














Spanish flissions 
of the 
Old Southwest 








CALIFORNIA 


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CARMEL (THE SAN CARLOS BORROMEO) : 


The dome is surmounted by a decorative cap instead of the usual lantern. A full view of the 
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Spanish Missians 
of the 
Old Southwest 


by 
Cleve Ballenbeck 





With U9 halftone and Il line 


illustrations 


Garden City New Work 
Doubleday, Page and Company 
; 1926 


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COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE 
& COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. — 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE _ 
COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. ¥. 


FIRST EDITION _ 





PREFATORY 


chapters of American history was written by the 
Brown Friars of the Order of San Francisco. Unarmed, 
and led by a compelling religious zeal, these Soldiers of the 
Cross carried the torch of civilization far into the uncharted 
wilds of New Spain, where they cheerfully accepted hard- 
ships, privations, and perils that they might teach the relig- 
ion of the Carpenter of Nazareth and the crafts of civilized 
life to the untamed savage. 

Yet no other chapter of our history is so persistently 1g- 
nored by the general historian and, consequently, so little 
known to the general reader. We are familiar with the 
careers of the old French Jesuits—Joliet, Hennepin, Mar- 
quette, Tonti—in the St. Lawrence and Mississippi valleys, 
but the splendid work of such men as Kino, Garces, Bena- 
vides, Margil, Serra, and Lasuen, carried forward over a 
period of two centuries in the southwestern portion of our 
country, is almost unknown outside the states in which these 


ae of the most interesting, instructive, and romantic 


men laboured. 

The special historian, however, has written voluminously 
upon the work of the Spanish padres in our Southwest, and 
the student desiring an intimate knowledge of this part of 
our history finds abundant material available. But the gen- 
eral reader has been somewhat ignored, inasmuch as no 
single volume covers more than one of the four mission 

V 


PREFATORY 


fields, and no one author ever has covered more than two 
of the fields. 

A desire to condense the voluminous literature of the sub- 
ject into a story succinct enough to appeal to the average 
busy man and woman led to the preparation of the present 
little volume, and as such the writer believes it fills a hitherto 
unfilled gap. Its preparation has been a self-imposed task 
and an agreeable one, to which he has turned his attention, 
as opportunity offered, for sixteen years. 

He acknowledges his indebtedness to Fr. Zephyrin En- 
gelhardt, Dr. L. B. Prince, Dr. G. W. James, Mr. Prent 
Duell, Mr. R. E. Twitchell, Prof. Bernard Moses, and Mr. 
Robert Sturmberg, whose researches in mission history were 
freely consulted in the final preparation of this little volume. 
Acknowledgments also are due Mrs. R. C. Reid, of Dexter, 
New Mexico, Mr. Lawrence Daingerfield, of Houston, 
Texas, Prof. Byron Cummings, of Tucson, Arizona, and 
Mr. James H. Jarboe, of San Antonio, Texas, in recognition 
of assistance cheerfully and generously given. 

In selecting the mission photographs, in which every ex- 
isting mission church and every important feature of mission 
architecture is depicted, the author had the valued assistance 
of Mrs. Mary R. van Stone, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Mr. 
Harold Taylor, of Coronado, California, Messrs. C. C. 
Pierce and Palmer Gillette, of Los Angeles, California, and 
Messrs. Harvey Patteson, Ernst Raba, and G. D. Sanders, 
of San Antonio, Texas. Through the coédperation of these 
artists, the author is enabled to present a complete pictorial 
record of the Spanish missions of the old Southwest. 


ROSWELL, NEw Mexico. CLEVE HALLENBECK. 
vi 


XI. 


CONTENTS 


PREFATORY . 

INTRODUCTORY . 

FouNDING AND GOVERNMENT 
Missions In New Mexico . 
Missions IN ARIZONA. 

Missions IN TEXAS 

Missions IN CALIFORNIA . 

Tue INDIANS 

Lire aT THE Missions 

Mission ART AND ARCHITECTURE . 
SECULARIZATION OF THE Missions . 


CONCLUSION. 


Appenpix A: Mission LEGENDS 


The Lost Bells of the Tumacacori 


The Lost Mines of the Tumacacori 


The Unfinished Tower of the San Xavier. 


Huisar, the Sculptor of the San José . 


The Rising of the Coffin of Fray Padilla . 


Our Lady of the Rosary. 


vul 


PAGE 


100 
118 


123 


135 
136 
137 
137 
139 


140 


Vill CONTENTS 


Appenpix A: Mission LEGENDS (Continued) 
The Bell of San Miguel . 
The Picture of St. Joseph at Acoma 


Legends of Maria Coronel . 

The Mortar of the Concepcién Purisima . 

The Bells of the San José 

Legends of the San Antonio de Valero 
Appenpix B: Tue Massacre AT THE ALAMO. 
Appenpix C: Maria CoroNEL DE AGREDA 
Appenpix D: ONATE’s PROCLAMATION 
Aprenp1x E: How to Reacu THE Missions . 
AprenpiIx F: Francis oF ASSISI. 


Apprenpix G: PRONUNCIATION AND MEANING OF SPANISH 
Names, Etc. . 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


PLATES: 


I4I 
142 
143 
145 
145 
146 
149 
157 
165 
168 


172 


175 
183 
185 


Spanish flissians 
of the 
O10 Southmest 








SPANISH MISSIONS 
OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


I 
INTRODUCTORY 
URING the period covered by the founding of the 


Spanish missions in the four Southwestern states, 
there were, of course, no political subdivisions of this vast 
and variegated wilderness. It was all claimed by Spain, 
but the name Mexico, which later came to be applied to 
the entire region governed from Mexico City, was at that 
time applied only to the southern half of the present political 
state of that name. ‘The region to the north was uncharted 
territory, rather vaguely divided into Pimeria Alta (Sonora, 
Chihuahua, southern Arizona, and southwestern New Mex- 
ico), California Alta (California), Nuevo Mexico (north- 
ern and eastern New Mexico and western Texas) and Tejas 
Bejar, or Texas Bexar (eastern and southern Texas). N orth 
of these regions was undiscovered territory, concerning 
which nothing was known. 

While all the missionary work was directed from Mexico 
City, the mission fields in the present states of Texas, New 
Mexico, Arizona, and California were distinct from those 
to the south, except that the Arizona field extended south- 
ward into Sonora. Also, each of these four fields was dis- 

I 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


tinct and separate from the others, with its own organiza- 
tion and ecclesiastical government. It is, therefore, feas- 
ible to treat of the missionary work in each of the four 
Southwestern states without more than passing reference to 
the similar work in Mexico or in the other Southwestern 
fields. 

This being an account of the Spanish missions, little at- 
tention is given to the civil history. But it may be men- 
tioned here that each of the mission fields also was a field for 
limited colonization, and the settlement and government of 
the country went on contemporaneously with the missionary 
work among the natives. These were, however, separate 
enterprises, and each can be discussed without much refer- 
ence to the other. 

At the same time, the missions were fostered and protected 
by the higher civil authorities. To understand the situation 
fully, the reader has but to remember the close union of 
Church and State that existed in the Latin countries, and 
more especially in Spain, during the 16th, 17th, and 18th 
centuries. In a sense, the Church was the State and the 
State was the Church. A religious motive was assigned to 
nearly every political act, whatever the real motive might 
have been. Government apart from religion was, during 
that period, a thing incomprehensible to the people of Spain. 
And, since missionary work was considered a duty of the 
Church, it automatically became a duty of the State. The 
priest was as necessary to an exploring or colonizing enter- 
prise as was the soldier, and the Cross accompanied the 
Sword wherever it went, and often led the way. 

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INTRODUCTORY 


It was an age of great religious zeal in Spain. The open- 
ing up of each new mission field was an occasion for general 
jubilation. In part, this religious fervour was due to the 
roused energies of the Roman Catholic Church, which, de- 
feated in its efforts to stay the wave of reformation that swept 
over northern and central Europe, strove to restore its pres- 
tige by establishing itself securely in the New World. But 
it was in greater part due to Spain’s final triumph over the 
Moors. Spain took small part in the Crusades because she 
was fighting the infidel, intermittently, at home. And 
when, toward the end of the 15th Century, she emerged com- 
pletely triumphant from this long contest, with the banners 
of Christianity floating over the Moslem strongholds in 
Granada, her religious enthusiasm knew no bounds. And 
when, right upon the heels of this signal victory of the Cross 
over the Crescent, Columbus presented to Spain a New 
World inhabited by uncounted millions of pagans awaiting 
the salutary waters of baptism, that nation had a magnifi- 
cent vision of a world-wide empire under the spiritual 
domination of the Roman Catholic Church, and believed 
herself to be the specially selected agent of God to carry 
the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. This 
religious fervour burned for three centuries, and during that 
time Spain’s missionary efforts were of a magnitude never 
since equalled by any other nation on earth. 

Evidence of this all-pervading religious zeal is found in 
the names given by the Spaniards to rivers, mountains, and 
other topographic features encountered in their explora- 
tions, as well as to the towns they founded. Among the 

5 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


hundreds of such names we may mention a few in our 
Southwest—La Trinidad (the Trinity) River, the Sangre 
de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains, La Bahia del 
Espiritu Santo (the Bay of the Holy Spirit), and the cities 
of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ), Santa Fe (Holy Faith), 
San Diego (St. James), Santa Cruz (Holy Cross), ete. 
Most of the Spanish settlements in the New World were 
named after saints, archangels, and holy relics. 

Spain and France were the only Catholic powers holding 
claims on this continent, but the work of the French mis- 
sionaries is dwarfed into insignificance in comparison with 
that of the Spanish padres. ‘The French missionaries were 
Jesuits, devoted to missionary work; but nearly every one of 
the monastic orders was represented among the thousands 
of Spanish missionaries. 

The few French missionaries made no real attempt to civ- 
ilize the Indians or to teach them the arts of civilization. 
They adapted themselves to the Indian’s standards and mode 
of living. The Spaniards, on the other hand, made honest — 
efforts to train the Indian to the European’s standard, and 
craftsmen and husbandmen were sent over by the thousand 
from Spain to teach the natives how to be self-supporting 
through the creation of wealth. This one fact the author 
desires specially to emphasize: that the religious instruction 
of the Indians was only a part, and often a subordinate part, 
of their schooling. Spain had no intention to dispossess 
the Indians of their country. Quite the opposite was de- 
sired: it was her idea to fix the natives to the soil, just as the 
peasantry of Europe were fixed; in other words, to create 

6 


INTRODUCTORY 


a great Spanish empire in the New World with a native 
peasantry under Spanish overlords. But inasmuch as the 
Indians possessed much more land than they could utilize 
for agricultural purposes, the way was open for the intro- 
duction of many Spanish colonists, although most of the 
Spanish settlers who voyaged to the New World came with 
the intention of securing estates on which they proposed to 
establish native labourers. 

In the dispute between Spain and Portugal over their 
relative claims, it will be remembered that Pope Alexander 
VI, called upon to decide, adjudicated the major portion of 
America to Ferdinand and Isabella and their heirs, and not 
to the Spanish nation. Consequently, the King was the 
head of all enterprises that had as their object the christian- 
izing and civilizing of the natives. The major missionary 
enterprises were referred directly to the King for his ap- 
proval, and in many cases he himself took the initiative. 
Liberal contributions for carrying on this work were made 
from the royal revenues. 

The Spanish friars who came as missionaries to the na- 
tives were, as a rule, men of culture. Most of them were 
university-trained, and a few had been university instruc- 
tors in Spain. The religious enthusiasm of the pioneer 
padres was infectious, and thousands of young men of good 
family flocked to the monastery schools to prepare them- 
selves for enlistment in Spain’s far-flung missionary efforts. 
The Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, 
Jeromites, and possibly others of the great monastic orders, 
were represented in the mission fields of the Americas. The 

7 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Jesuits, while well educated, lacked the breadth and toler- 
ance that characterized the Franciscans. 

Nearly all of the missionary work in our Southwest was 
done by the Franciscans (Order of San Francisco, or Order 
of Friars Minor). The Franciscans, as well as all the 
other monastic orders, were agents of the Inquisition, but 
we can find only one instance in which their power was 
exercised in this country. In this one case, a man who was 
adjudged guilty of a heresy “outrivalling that of the Protes- 
tants” was sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment, during 
which time the true meaning of the Scriptures was to be 
expounded to him by one of the padres. He escaped after 
three days’ imprisonment, and no effort was made to re- 
capture him. | 

The missionary padres were broad enough to realize that 
the mere acts of conversion and baptism were insufficient 
to blot out the Indian’s long heritage of savagery; that this 
would have to be a slow process of intellectual and moral 
evolution. They planned their work accordingly. Their 
plans and efforts promised well, but Spain’s declining 
power, and the loss, one after the other, of her American 
provinces, brought about the decline and disintegration of 
her far-reaching missionary work. 

Spain’s missionary efforts were spread over the West 
Indies, the southwestern part of North America, nearly all 
of the habitable portions of South America, and the Philip- 
pine Islands. It was her original plan to place the mis- 
sions on the frontier of civilization, and as fast as the natives 
were christianized, tamed, and taught the arts and crafts 

8 


INTRODUCTORY 


of the white man, to push the missions farther into pagan 
territory, and thus build up her great overseas empire. 
But this magnificent plan was found to be impracticable. 
Some of the Indian tribes were sedentary, some semi- 
nomadic, and some wholly nomadic. Some tribes were 
tractable and others were untamable and murderous. Some 
tribes readily adapted themselves to the ways of the white 
man and others steadfastly refused to conform; some were 
intelligent and others were incredibly stupid. It was im- 
possible, under these conditions, to push a uniformly ad- 
vancing line of missions across a continent or even across 
any considerable portion thereof. Mission fields, there- 
fore, were opened up here and there, in most cases in 
territory possessed by sedentary tribes, and often were 
widely separated from each other. Within the present 
limits of the United States, only one little cluster of mis- 
sions succeeded in holding its own in territory possessed 
by nomadic Indians. 


IT 
FOUNDING AND GOVERNMENT 


FEW missions were founded by the padres on their 
A own responsibility, but as a rule this was not done 
without the authorization of the King’s viceroy in Mexico 
City, who at the same time designated the approximate lo- 
cation of the mission. It then was established by one or 
two padres and a few soldiers or labourers, who, after 
selecting a suitable site (usually in the neighbourhood of 
Indian villages), there planted a cross and erected a tem- 
porary shelter. Then a dedicatory Mass was said and the 
mission was started on its career. Often the mission was 
founded a year or two before any permanent church was 
begun, and in many cases the initial shelter or hut served 
for a time both as a church and as the residence of the padre 
incharge. Our picture of the brush church at Santa Isabel, 
California, will give the reader some idea of what a newly 
founded mission was like. 

Sometimes work on a substantial church and other build- 
ings was begun by the few white soldiers and labourers who 
had accompanied the priest, but more often the building 
was postponed until enough Indians could be collected, by 
persuasion or capture, to perform most of the manual la- 
bour. A presidio, or barracks for the soldiers, also was 
promptly built at those missions where a garrison was to be 

Io 


FOUNDING AND GOVERNMENT 


stationed. Half a dozen or so of soldiers constituted a 
garrison. 

This establishment became a nucleus around which a 
settlement of neophytes (converted Indians) and white col- 
onists gradually developed. The Indians, as a rule, were 
in the majority, and at a few of the missions in Arizona and 
New Mexico there were no whites except the padres and 
lay brothers. | 

While the term “mission” is now popularly applied only 
to the church, it usually included a great deal more. The 
church, being the most substantial of the buildings, has 
survived where nearly all else has fallen to ruin and disap- 
peared. Properly, the mission also included the Convento 
(residence of the padres), the cabins of the colonists and 
Indians, and often schoolrooms, shops, mills, tanneries and 
storehouses, sheds and corrals for the livestock, together 
with gardens, vineyards, orchards, and cultivated fields, and 
in many cases extensive range lands over which grazed 
thousands of cattle, sheep, and goats. The mission usually 
was a large and tolerably compact community, numbering 
hundreds and even thousands of souls. 

The dual purpose of the missions should not be lost sight 
of. Converting the Indians to Christianity was only a part 
of the work assigned to them. ‘They were to educate the 
natives and transform them into skilled farmers, mechanics, 
builders, and craftsmen. In the schoolrooms, the Indian 
children were given an elementary scholastic education, 
and provision was made at some of the missions for teach- 
ing music and painting. 

II 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


In this scheme, the interests of the Spanish settlers were 
placed secondary to the welfare of the Indians, and the col- 
onists had sufficient grounds for their oft-repeated com- 
plaint that “everything is done for the Indians and but 
little for us.” Nevertheless, many of the missions proved 
attractive to the white settlers, and gradually grew into cities 
bearing the names of the missions: for example, San Diego 
and San Francisco in California, and San Antonio in Texas. 
These originally were the missions of San Diego de Alcala, 
San Francisco de Asis, and San Antonio de Valero. 

Wherever possible, the mission was founded near Indian 
villages, called rancherias by the Spaniards. From these 
villages the padres gathered their neophytes, who then estab- 
lished themselves around the mission. In New Mexico, 
however, the Indians already were living in permanent and 
exceedingly compact community villages when first discov- 
ered by the Spaniards, and the padres had only to erect their 
churches in or near these villages. These the Spaniards 
called pueblos (towns) although they were quite different 
from the Spanish pueblos in other fields that were organized 
as towns and had town governments modelled after those in 
Spain. This system of government, however, the Spaniards 
eventually introduced in the Indian pueblos of New Mex- 
ico, and native chiefs themselves were appointed to many 
minor offices. 

The missions differed considerably among themselves in 
importance and in the variety of industries carried on. 
Some of those in New Mexico and Arizona were hardly 
more than mission churches, while others, in California and 

12 


FOUNDING AND GOVERNMENT 


Texas, were important industrial establishments. For illus- 
tration, in California, as late as the year 1825, the missions 
produced all of the manufactured goods and seven eighths of 
the agricultural products of that state. 

Most of the mission churches, in each field, served other 
smaller outlying communities in which chapels known as 
visitas OY asistencias were built, and where religious services 
were held at more or less regular intervals by priests from 
the central mission. Many of the priests were what we at 
this day would call “circuit riders,” although they usually 
walked, facing both the broiling sun of summer and the 
storms of winter to visit their charges. Their endurance 
was remarkable, for some of the visitas were ten, twenty, 
and even thirty miles from the mission. 

Frequently, also, the presidio was located some distance 
from the mission in order to remove the neophytes from the 
demoralizing and debauching influence of the soldiers. In 
such cases a chapel, or castrense, was built at the presidio 
and regularly served by a priest from the mission. How- 
ever depraved the soldiers were, they. insisted upon their 
Mass and confessional. 

Among themselves, the priests were known as Frailes 
(plural of Fray, meaning brother), or, in English, as friars: 
but to their flocks they were known as padres (Spanish for 
fathers). The two terms are now used synonymously in 
speaking of the brothers of the great mendicant orders—the 
Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians. 

Each mission was in charge of a padre: if there were two 
Or more serving at the same point, one of them was the 

13 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Superior, or Padre Superior. Exercising general super- 
vision over each mission field was a religious official known 
as the Padre Presidente, Custodio, or Comisario, whose 
work was directed by the Spanish viceroy in Mexico City. 
The viceroy was answerable to the King of Spain, but prac- 
tically he was in supreme authority. Thus we see that civil 
and ecclesiastical functions were kept separate until they 
merged in the viceroy. 

Each mission field also was a field for limited coloniza- 
tion, and had a civil-military government under a governor 
and judges appointed by the viceroy, with their inevitable 
train of satellites and subordinate officials. Since the Padre 
Presidente was supposed to have entire authority over the 
neophytes, here was a situation in which a conflict of author- 
ity might develop, and which did frequently develop. 

However, the mission work was fostered by the King and 
by his viceroy, and, as a rule, any governor or other civil 
or military official who was obnoxious to the religious au- 
thorities was recalled and one sent in his place who could 
work in harmony with the padres, or, at least, refrain from 
harassing them. Some of the governors were men of large 
calibre, and the missions prospered under their rule, but 
others were “arrogant misfits” who, while fearing to antag- 
onize the padres, evened up matters by mistreating the 
natives, particularly the “gentile” or unchristianized natives 
who were outside the padre’s authority and jurisdiction. 

The work of the padres also was greatly handicapped, and 
sometimes brought to naught, by the lawlessness of the 
soldiers. The small garrisons that were established at vari- 

14 


FOUNDING AND GOVERNMENT 


ous points for the “protection” of the missions and Spanish 
colonists soon made such protection necessary. With one 
or two exceptions, every Indian uprising in the Southwest 
during the Spanish régime can be traced to the brutality and 
licentiousness of the soldiery. 

The author desires to emphasize the fact that the attitude 
of the home government in Spain was one of benevolence 
and helpfulness toward the Indian. ‘The methods used in 
helping him were not always above criticism, as judged by 
present-day standards, but the crimes visited upon the In- 
dians by Spanish conquistadores and tyrannical governors 
were neither authorized nor approved by the King. On 
the contrary, the royal orders forbidding the enslavement 
or maltreatment of the natives were clear and emphatic. 
But Spain was a long way from America, and there were 
no cables or swift steamers. Even the viceroy in Mexico 
City often was kept in ignorance of conditions existing in 
the more distant provinces, while the trails to Mexico City 
were kept hot with charges and countercharges. 

The object for which the missions were founded was, as 
we have seen, to convert the Indians to Christianity, train 
them in the arts and crafts of civilized life, and develop them 
mentally to the point where they could be entrusted with the 
duties and privileges of free citizens and subjects of the 
King of Spain. This accomplished, the Indians were to be 
freed from the authority of the padres and given lands and 
equipment of their own, while the missions would cease to 
exist as such and the mission church would become a parish 
chapel ministering only to the spiritual needs of the newly 

15 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


made citizens. It was to be permanent; the other mission 
buildings were to be temporary. The Spanish Government 
believed that the Indians in any one mission field could be 
permanently civilized within ten years; the padres thought 
that it might take two or three generations; but a far- 
sighted governor of the province of California Alta came 
nearer the truth when he declared that “at the rate they are 
advancing, they will not reach the goal in ten centuries.” 
Yet, in the light of to-day’s knowledge, it must be conceded 
that they made very satisfactory progress. N aturally, they 
relapsed when the missions were abandoned. 

How this work was prematurely terminated will be re- 
lated in a later section dealing with the secularization of the 
missions, but it may be stated here that the bells which rang 
out the independence of Mexico also rang the knell of the 
missionary work on this continent. 


16 


III 
MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


PANISH rule was established in Mexico by Cortez in 
1522, and in 1535, a vice-regal government was set up 
in Mexico City with Mendoza as the first viceroy. During 
his term, which extended to 1550, Mexico became the most 
progressive and enlightened of the Spanish colonies. Be- 
fore the year 1550, Mexico City had a printing press, a uni- 
versity, and a mint—the first, in each case, in the New World 
—and Spanish colonies had been planted in many parts of 
Mexico proper, with at least half a dozen settlements well 
established on the Pacific Coast. 

But until Cabeza de Vaca—the Ulysses of the New World 
—reached Mexico after eight years of wandering through 
strange deserts, forests, and mountain plateaus, and there 
unfolded a highly coloured tale of the wonderful things he 
had seen, the Spaniards knew nothing of the vast and varie- 
gated empire that stretched from Texas westward to the 
Pacific. 

De Vaca’s marvellous adventures aroused the interest of 
the Mexican Government, and a friar named Marcos was 
sent out with a small party to look over the country and 
verify or disprove De Vaca’s story. He went through 
Arizona as far northward as the pueblos of the Zufii Indians, 
and on his return delivered an account that outshone that of 

17 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


De Vaca. Among other exaggerations, he made out the 
seven Zufi pueblos to be large cities—the “Seven Cities of 
Cibola.” 3 

This roused interest to a still higher pitch, and in 1539— 
two years after the return of De Vaca—Coronado led a well- 
equipped expedition northward through northwestern 
Mexico and eastern Arizona to the country of the Zufiis. 
After exploring westward to the Colorado River, the expedi- 
tion moved leisurely across New Mexico, exploring the 
country as it went. With Coronado’s further movements, 
his disappointment, the suffering of his men, and his shame- 
faced return to Mexico, we have nothing to do. 

As a result of his expedition, the enthusiasm in Mexico 
over the country to the north was very much abated, and 
for nearly forty years thereafter nothing further was at- 
tempted. In 1582, one Espejo led an expedition into east- 
ern New Mexico, but it was barren of results except to 
renew a mild interest in the great unknown lands north of 
Mexico. At different times a few venturesome friars also 
penetrated this territory, but most of them were promptly 
killed by the Indians. 

The way, however, was paved for the colonist and the 
missionary, and in 1598—an important year in the history 
of civilization—the first move was made in this direction. 

In that year, Henry IV of France issued his famous Edict 
of Nantes, giving religious freedom to the French Protes- 
tants, thereby defying the Pope. In that year died Philip II 
of Spain—one of the most intolerant bigots in all history 
and a moving spirit of the Spanish Inquisition. In that 

18 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


year France attempted to plant her first colony in the New 
World, while in England, where the long, glorious reign of 
Elizabeth was drawing to its close, Raleigh was trying to 
interest someone in his colonization schemes and Shake- 
speare was at the height of his power. 

In 1598, one Juan de Offate, after having experienced 
many delays, led an army of soldiers and colonists (130 of 
them accompanied by their families), together with an 
enormous wagon train and 7,000 head of cattle, northward 
into the Grande valley, crossing to the east bank of that 
river where El Paso now stands. They moved up the valley 
through the Indian pueblos to a point about twenty-five 
miles north of the present city of Santa Fe, where they set- 
tled, like a swarm of locusts, upon the Indian village of 
Yunque. Ofiate renamed this pueblo “San Juan de los 
Caballeros” (St. John of the Gentlemen), applying the name 
“sentlemen” to the natives in recognition of their hospitable 
reception of the Spaniards, to whom dwellings were as- 
signed until such time as they could build their own. 

Ofiate was accompanied by two Mexican Indians who 
acted as interpreters, and through them a conference of the 
pueblo tribes was held, in which they accepted the sover- 
eignty of the King of Spain. Ofiate had been appointed 
governor of this new territory, and he immediately estab- 
lished his capital across the river (Grande) from Yunque, 
naming it San Gabriel. He then began an exploration of 
the entire region inhabited by the Pueblo Indians: an area 
extending from the headwaters of the Pecos River westward 
into the present State of Arizona. 

IO 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


With Onate’s army were ten Franciscan friars, in charge 
of Fr. Martinez as Comisario. After a second conference 
with the Indian chiefs, which was made the occasion for a 
great féte by both whites and natives, Ofiate divided the ter- 
ritory into seven districts for purposes of administration, 
and to each of these districts Martinez assigned one friar 
for the purpose of initiating the missionary work. ‘These 
promptly departed, alone and unarmed, for their several 
fields. 

One is compelled to admire the courage and devotion of 
these Soldiers of the Cross who, without hesitation and even 
with enthusiasm, abandoned their kind to take up their 
chosen work among strange savages whose language and 
habits of life they did not even understand. ‘Their isola- 
tion, however, was not of great duration. Additional 
colonists arrived from Mexico from time to time; small 
garrisons were established in a number of pueblos, and the 
Franciscan college in Mexico City occasionally sent rein- 
forcements to this new mission field. The first church was 
built at San Juan, and probably was in service by the end of 
the year 1598. No time was lost in erecting mission 
churches in the various pueblos where the pioneer friars 
took up their residence, and it appears that, by the end of 
the 16th Century, missions had been established in the San 
Juan, Nambe, Jemez, San Felipe, Picuris, Santa Ana, Zia, 
and Pecos pueblos. 

These were the first missions established within the terri- 
torial limits of the United States. Others were built in the 
larger pueblos from time to time, but the early history of 

20 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


most of them is lost or uncertain, their records having been 
destroyed in a great Indian rebellion in 1680. We are de- 
pendent for nearly all the early history of these missions 
upon Fr. Alonzo de Benavides, who, as Custodio, was in 
charge of this field from 1622 to 1630. According to his 
accounts, there were twenty-four missions at that time, serv- 
ing eighty pueblos (from which we infer that there must 
have been some fifty-six visitas) in which were approxi- 
mately 60,000 christianized Indians. 

During the term of Benavides, the Zufhis—the most war- 
like of the Pueblo tribes—were finally subjugated and the 
mission field extended westward into their territory, further 
mention of which will be made in the account of the Arizona 
missions. 

Also, between 1625 and 1630, several missions were built, 
under the direction of Fr. Acevedo, in the Salinas region, 
which occupies practically the geographic centre of New 
Mexico. Three of these were the largest, most substantial, 
and most pretentious churches in the State, with high, mas- 
sive walls built of thin stones. The largest (the Cuarat) 
was 202 feet wide and 131 feet deep; another (the Tabira) 
evidently had battlemented walls and thus was a marked de- 
parture from the usual mission architecture. The ruins of 
the Tabira, Cuarai, and Abo—the only ones of which 
anything remains—are quite impressive. There were 
seven Indian pueblos in the Salinas region at that time, 
but all were abandoned, along with the missions, in 1671, 
through fear of the encroaching Apaches. Mr. Paul A. 
F. Walter gives an interesting account of the Salinas 

21 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


pueblos and missions in his story, ‘“The Cities That Died 
Or. Fears 

The indefatigable Benavides left for Spain in 1630, and 
for half a century thereafter the work of the missions went 
on with little to record except local conflicts with hostile 
Indians and the inevitable friction with the civil and mili- 
tary authorities. 

Then, in 1680, came the Pueblo Rebellion—the most dis- 
astrous Indian uprising that ever has been staged within 
the limits of the United States. For this catastrophe the 
soldiers, colonists, and secular authorities must be held re- 
sponsible. The treatment of the natives by the soldiers 
cannot be characterized as other than inhuman, and many 
Indians were held in virtual slavery by the colonists, not- 
withstanding the emphatic orders of the King and the indig- 
nant protests of the padres. Only the unceasing efforts of 
the padres prevented the smouldering hatred in the breasts 
of the natives from blazing into open rebellion: and by their 
continual preaching of patience and submission these priests 
had gradually alienated their neophytes and had, in the 
minds of the natives, aligned themselves with the oppressors. 

For several years before the great uprising, there had 
been sporadic outbreaks—premonitory warnings of the im- 
pending catastrophe—but to these the Spanish authorities 
gave no heed except to crush them with a ruthless hand. 
The Indians finally came to realize that without concerted 
effort they could not hope to shake off their oppressors. 
They needed a leader, and their leader arose in the person 
of one Po-pé (Po-pay) of the San Juan pueblo. Aided by 


22 


Oto SBaLBUQUERQUE 
ALBUO ER OG 


rr vy 
K 


ata MILES 


14350 aero LY AUG HIN 
vies =- FS 
SEMOUNTAUNAIR Ns 
~ = 
cit SO 


‘e \ 


t 
‘ 
4 
' ad 
4 
é 


— 


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SS an @arciat CARRIZOZO 





FIG. 2. MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


(The name in parentheses is the name of the Indian pueblo in or near which the mis- 
sion was located, when this is different from the name of the mission. Ina few cases, the 


name of the mission is not known.) 


_z. San Gerénimo de Taos (Taos). 
Ranchas de Taos.+ 

San Lorenzo (Picuris)2 
aot eh. 4 I POMpas). 
San Fuan de los Caballeros. 
Santuario at Chimayo} 
Santa Cruz. 

Santa Clara de Asis. 

San Ildefonso.’ 

Unknown. 

MRTMONE Ne sk So » (Pojuaque)$ 
z2. Unknown? 

13. San Francisco (Nambe).3 
14. San Diego (Tesuque). 

LES. | Ace eee (Pecos)? 

16. Santa Fe churches 

17. San Buenaventura (Cochiti). 


\ 


SO OY AWAY 


1Not a mission. 
2Tn ruins. 


18. San Diego (Femez)2 

zo. Nuestra Senora de la Asuncién (Zia). 

20. Santa Ana (Alamillo). 

2z. San Felipe. 

22. Santo Domingo.’ 

23. Nuesira Senora de los Dolores 
(Sandia). 

24. Old Albuquerque. 

25. San Augustin (Isleta). 

26. Nuestra Senora de la Concepcién Puri- 
sima de Alona (Zuni).8 

27. San Estevan (Acoma). 


2S inn oto Em eres (Laguna).3 
BQe i éncaieseayaet en (Unknown) .3 
JO e aiektme arene (Cuarat)? 
LECT ene Grae (Abo)? 
Paap (Tabira)? 


3Nothing now remains of the mission. 





MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


a few capable lieutenants, Po-pé secretly organized the con- 
spiracy in all the pueblos. All women, and all men who 
were suspected of friendship toward the Spaniards, were 
carefully excluded from the plot. 

The date of August 13th was set for the general uprising. 
But, notwithstanding the precautions, the plot was revealed 
to the Spaniards by some friendly Indians. When Po-pé 
learned, as he did immediately, that he had been betrayed, 
he sent swift couriers to all the pueblos directing them to 
strike at once, and on August 10th the blow fell like the 
crash of doom. 

The Governor, Otermin, had issued hurried orders for all 
Spaniards to concentrate at Santa Fe and Isleta, and many 
fugitives reached one or the other of these two points. The 
rest were killed outright or hunted down and exterminated. 
Twenty-one padres were slain the first day. The Indians, 
like all primitive peoples, were unable to distinguish be- 
tween friend and foe, and soldier and priest, man and 
woman, alike were cut down. 

The Governor made a stand at Santa Fe and there fought 
a desperate battle, in which the slaughter among the natives 
was frightful. But reinforcements poured in to the Indians 
from every side, and Otermin ordered the evacuation of the 
city. The Indian warriors watched their enemy depart, and 
even followed them for three days to make sure they were 
leaving, but made no further attacks upon them. This band 
of fugitives, together with those that had succeeded in reach- 
ing Isleta, retreated southward until they reached the present 
site of E] Paso, where they paused. Most of them eventu- 

25 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


ally drifted on down into Mexico. Not a living Spaniard 
was left in New Mexico except some of the young women 
who were reserved as wives for Indian braves. 

The mission buildings were, in nearly every case, dam- 
aged by the Indians, but only a few were entirely destroyed. 
As a general thing, the combustible portion was burned. 
The Zufi church in New Mexico, together with its contents, 
was carefully preserved by the natives, and in one or two 
other instances the church was not damaged. 

For a time the Spanish in Mexico were stunned by the 
unexpected and sweeping disaster. Then plans were made 
for the reconquest. Governor Otermin led an expedition 
northward from El Paso del Norte, but was turned back 
shortly after reaching Isleta. The Indians of this pueblo, 
who were friendly to Otermin, abandoned their pueblo and 
went southward with him and built themselves a new pueblo 
some ten miles east of E] Paso. 

Other unsuccessful attempts were made to reconquer the 
Pueblo tribes, and one of these expeditions, under General 
Cruzate, penetrated as far as the Zia and Santa Ana pueblos, 
which Cruzate burned before retreating. 

Then, in 1692, Don Diego de Vargas—a man of excep- 
tional ability and energy—led a small army up the Grande 
valley into the Pueblo country. He used tact instead of 
force in winning back the natives, and used it to such effect 
that every pueblo visited submitted peaceably and renewed 
its allegiance to the Spanish crown. ‘This change of front, 
however, was in part due to the fact that the Apache Indians 
of the plains had taken advantage of the absence of the 

26 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


Spaniards to make frequent raids upon the pueblos, several 
of which had suffered severely. 

De Vargas then returned to Mexico and recruited a larger 
force which, together with colonists and a number of padres, 
he led up the Grande valley in 1693. This time, however, 
the Indians were misled by false rumours regarding De 
Vargas’s intentions, and several of the pueblos put up a 
stiff resistance. Other pueblos, faithful to their allegiance, 
furnished De Vargas with valuable allies in his campaign 
against the refractory tribesmen. He gained several com- 
plete victories, and within a short time the entire region 
again was in the hands of the Spaniards, who, already for- 
getting the drastic lesson of 1680, proposed again to enslave 
the natives. They were, however, restrained by the strong 
hand of De Vargas, who had been made governor and who 
kept faith with the natives. There were local outbreaks 
and conspiracies at a few of the most hostile pueblos for 
several years after, but eventually all calmed down. Nine- 
teen of the old missions were rebuilt or repaired, several 
new ones were established, and from this time on, until 
Mexico began her struggle for independence—nearly a 
century and a quarter—the work of the missions went on 
without serious interruption. 

They began to decline when revolution broke out in 
Mexico in 1810, and during the ensuing twenty years were 
reduced to the status of parish churches; and as parish 
churches many of them remain in service to this day. 


27 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


HistoricaL Notes—Mussions orf NEw Mexico 
Ow1nc to the fragmentary nature of the records concerning 
the New Mexico missions, there doubtless were a few early 
ones of which nothing whatever is now known: these, how- 
ever, could not have been important missions. In the fol- 
lowing historical notes, a few that exist only in legend also 
are omitted. 

San Juan de los Caballeros (5).* This church was 
erected by Offate’s colonists in the Indian pueblo of Yunque, 
where they first settled. The church probably was com- 
pleted in 1598, and was the first place of worship built within 
the United States except the chapel in the Spanish settlement 
of San Augustin, Florida. It was damaged in 1680 and 
repaired in 1698, although some writers insist a new church 
was erected after the reconquest. It was dismantled in 1890, 
and the church now in use at San Juan has never been other 
than a parish chapel. 

San Francisco de Asis (13). The erection of the mission 
of San Francisco in the Nambe pueblo was begun in 1598. 
It was an important establishment, the padres in charge 
having visitas in a number of neighbouring pueblos. The 
church and all its contents were destroyed in 1680, but the 
Indians welcomed the return of the Spaniards in 1692, and 
a fine new church was built shortly after. It was practically 
destroyed a few years ago when attempts were made to “re- 
store” it. It collapsed under the thrust of the gabled root 
that was added. 





*The number following the name of the mission refers to the location of that mission on the 
map on page 23. 


28 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


San Gerénimo de Taos (1). The Taos pueblo—the most 
interesting Indian pueblo in the entire region—was visited 
by one of Coronado’s officers, but thereafter it saw no more 
of the white man until Ofiate appeared a half century later. 
The mission church was built before 1617. The two padres 
serving at this place, together with all other Spaniards in the 
Taos valley, were killed in 1680, and the church was burned. 
A new church was erected in 1695 and continued in service 
until 1847. In that year the Taos Indians, incited by a few 
Mexicans, rebelled against the United States and fortified 
the church. In the consequent bombardment and capture 
by the United States troops, the church was wrecked and left 
in its present condition. Not enough of it was left to iden- 
tify it as a church. 

San Diego de Jemez (18). The Jemez pueblo, one of the 
most ancient in the Southwest, was visited by Coronado and 
later by Espejo. Then, in 1598, Ofate found it and started 
a settlement there. The first church probably was com- 
pleted in 1599, but the first one of which we have any posi- 
tive record was erected in 1618 and dedicated to St. James 
(San Diego). The Jemez Indians were refractory, and at 
different times were allied with the Navahoes and other gen- 
tile tribes in resisting the Spaniards. The church built in 
1618 is now in ruins. 

Pecos (15). The name of the mission founded in the 
Pecos pueblo early in the 17th Century isnot known. The 
church was a large, handsome structure, but was destroyed 
during the rebellion and was not rebuilt until 1693. The 
second church began falling to ruin after the pueblo was 

29 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


abandoned in 1840, its destruction having been consider- 
ably accelerated by vandals. Attempts have recently been 
made to preserve what is left of it. The pueblo itself has 
practically disappeared, but recent excavations show it to 
have been of great age: it probably was ancient when Amer- 
ica was discovered by Columbus. 

San Felipe (21). The church in the San Felipe pueblo 
was one of three handsome mission structures erected in the 
Queres (or Cuares) tribe in 1599. It was destroyed in 1680 
and a new one built in 1693. Benavides, in 1630, stated that 
the three Queres missions (San Felipe, Santa Ana, and 
Nuestra Sefiora de la Asuncién) had fine large churches 
and conventos, and that every Indian in the three pueblos 
had been baptized. The present church at San Felipe is the 
third, the one erected in 1693 being now in ruins. 

San Ildefonso (9). The San Ildefonso was one of the 
most important of the New Mexico missions and was estab- 
lished near the beginning of the 17th Century. The In- 
dians here earned an unenviable reputation for treachery 
and cruelty. The two padres serving at the mission were 
murdered at the altar in 1680, and in the reconquest, De 
Vargas met with fierce resistance and treachery at San Ilde- 
fonso. Again, in 1696, while the padre from the Nambe 
mission was visiting his brother priest at San Ildefonso, the 
Indians in the dead of night fastened the doors and windows 
of the convento and fired the building, suffocating the two 
men to death. The mission church was destroyed in 1680, 
and the convento was used for religious services until a 
new church was completed in 1700. This old building 

30 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


was remodelled out of all semblance to itself a few years 
ago. 

San Lorenzo de Picuris (3). ‘The mission of San Lor- 
enzo in the Picuris pueblo was founded near the end of the 
16th Century. Fr. Benavides, in 1629, mentioned a fine 
mission at this point, serving a number of neighbouring 
visitas. The church was damaged in 1680, but was repaired 
and restored to service immediately after the reconquest. 
It has been remodelled and repaired at intervals since, and 
little of the original structure remains. Nota Spaniard suc- 
ceeded in escaping from Picuris pueblo in the massacre of 
1680. 

Santa Ana de Alamillo (20). This church was built 
about the year 1600. It was a visita of the Ascuncion at Zia 
until the rebellion, but after the reconquest, it was made a 
full-fledged separate mission. The pueblo of Alamillo was 
captured by storm and burned by the Spanish troops in 1687, 
but when De Vargas appeared in 1692 he was welcomed by 
the Indians. The church was repaired at that time, and 
remains in service to-day. 

Nuestra Sefiora de la Asuncién (19). A mission was 
established in the Zia (or Sia) pueblo at the same time as 
the one at Santa Ana and was dedicated to Our Lady of 
the Assumption. It has practically the same history 
as the Santa Ana, even to the destruction of the pueblo 
in 1687. The church now in service at Zia was built 
early in the 17th Century and has not been materially altered 
since. 

San Augustin (25). The mission of San Augustin in 

31 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


the Isleta pueblo was established before 1629, as there were 
a church, convento, and Indian school there before that 
year. The Spaniards here escaped the massacre of 1680, 
but the church and other mission buildings were destroyed. 
Otermin, in his attempted reconquest of New Mexico, 
reached the Isleta pueblo, and on retreating was accom- 
panied by the Isleta Indians, who built a new pueblo some 
ten miles east of the present city of El] Paso. After the re- 
conquest by De Vargas, most of these Indians returned to 
their old home. The Isleta pueblo is in rich farming terri- 
tory, and the celebrated “mission” grape was, and still is, 
raised in large quantities there. 

Nuestra Senora de los Dolores (23). A mission dedi- 
cated to Our Lady of Sorrows was built in the Sandia pueblo 
at the beginning of the 17th Century. This pueblo was 
abandoned between 1680 and 1692 and a new one built in 
another location. The church and most of the old pueblo 
have disappeared. In the new pueblo, a church dedicated 
to St. Francis was erected in 1714, followed by another in 
1748. This last church is still standing, but has been ex- 
tensively remodelled. 

La Concepcion Purisima de Alona (26). ‘The Purisima 
was the only one of the six missions established in the Zui 
country that was within the present State of New Mexico, 
and is the only one that was not destroyed during the re- 
bellion of 1680. The Zufi Indians were warlike, and it is 
claimed that Estevan, one of De Vaca’s companions, was 
killed here. Coronado visited the pueblo in 1540, and the 
natives immediately provoked a fight, in which they were 

32 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


badly worsted. It was a very difficult mission field. The 
Indians murdered their padre in 1630 (a year after the mis- 
sion was established), and in 1680 they tortured another to 
death, although they respected and preserved the mission 
property. The church built in 1629 has disappeared, and 
of the one erected later, only the ruins remain. 

Santo Domingo (22). The Santo Domingo (or San 
Domingo) was an important mission, with three padres, all 
of whom were killed on the first day of the great rebellion. 
The church, however, was not seriously damaged by the In- 
dians. It was one of the finest and oldest in the state, having 
been erected in 1607, but it was gradually undermined by 
the Rio Grande, and in 1886 it toppled into the stream. 
The Santo Domingo had a very fine life-size statue of its 
patron saint (Dominick) finished in gold and silver. It 
also had a number of fine paintings, all of which were re- 
moved before the church collapsed. The Indians made 
heroic efforts to save their church from destruction, and 
then, seeing that “the God of the palefaces could not save 
his own house,” as they put it, they relapsed into their old 
barbarism and returned to their pagan gods. 

San Buenaventura (17). ‘The year of the founding of the 
Buenaventura (in the Cochiti pueblo) is not known, but it 
was at an early date: probably about 1605. The church 
was not destroyed in 1680, although the rest of the mission 
property was burned. It was repaired after the reoccupa- 
tion and continues in service to-day, being one of the oldest 
existing churches in the field. The Cochiti Indians were 
very hostile to De Vargas when he appeared on his second 

a3 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST, 


expedition, and one of his hardest battles was fought at this 
pueblo. 

San Diego (14). A mission dedicated to San Lorenzo 
was established in the Tesuque pueblo before 1625. At- 
tempts by the Indians to destroy it in 1680 resulted only in 
the woodwork being consumed, and in 1695 it was repaired 
and rededicated under the name of San Diego. The re- 
bellion of 1680 was directed from the Tesuque pueblo. 

Pojuaque (11). The Pojuaque pueblo is practically 
abandoned, but the little mission church, the name of which 
is not known, still stands crowning the brow of a hill. 
Little is known of its history: some assert that it never was 
anything more than a visita; others declare it was built sub- 
sequent to the mission period. It evidently is of respectable 
age. 

San Estevan de Acoma (27). The Acoma pueblo, called 
the “City of the Sky” is built upon a mesa of some one 
hundred acres having precipitous sides 400 feet high. The 
Acoma Indians were hostile to Ofiate when he appeared 
there in 1598, and in the fight which resulted, five Spaniards 
were compelled to leap from the mesa, miraculously land- 
ing below with only a few bruises. A Spaniard named 
Salvidar was killed in the action, and the next year his 
brother led an expedition against Acoma, destroying the 
pueblo and most of the Indians. It was thirty years before 
the rest of these Indians were finally subjugated and induced 
to return and rebuild their pueblo. It may be of interest to 
know that the materials for the church at Acoma, as well 
as the stone and earth for an artificial graveyard 200 feet 

34 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


square, were carried up by the Indians over a perilous path 
where a slip would have meant death. The church was 
built in 1629 and remodelled in 1699, although some hold 
that an entirely new church was built in the latter year. It 
served as the model for the New Mexico building at the 
Panama Exposition. 

Santa Clara de Asis (8). The mission of Santa Clara 
was one of several founded under the direction of Benavides 
about 1629. The original church was destroyed in 1680, 
and a new one, which now is in ruins, was erected in 1696. 
The church now in service at Santa Clara was built subse- 
quent to the mission period. 

The Salinas Churches (30, 31, 32). Inthe Salinas region 
of New Mexico, east and southeast of the Manzano Moun- 
tains, are the ruins of three of the six or seven mission 
‘churches built between 1625 and 1630, under the leadership 
of Fr. Francisco Acevedo. ‘These three are known as the 
Cuarai (or Cuara), Abo, and Tabira ruins: so-called after 
the pueblos in which they were located. Their real names 
are not known. ‘These were splendid structures, as even 
their ruins eloquently attest, and were not only the finest 
mission churches in New Mexico, but probably compared 
favourably with the best in other fields. The Tabira (some- 
times called the “Gran Quivira”) has been set aside as a 
national monument. Besides the ruins of these churches, 
remains of the large Indian pueblos which they served have 
been traced and uncovered. These pueblos, and conse- 
quently the missions, were abandoned about 1771 because 
of the hostility of the homicidal Plains tribes. 

35 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Laguna (28). Inthe Laguna pueblo stands the original 
church built in 1699. The name given by the Spaniards 
to the mission is not known. It was established after the 
reconquest, and has a record of comparatively peaceful 
service. The church still is in use. 


OTHER OLD CHURCHES IN NEW MEXICO 

There are several very old and interesting churches in 
and near Santa Fe that were not missions. Among these 
are the church of Santa Cruz de Galisteo, in Santa Cruz, 
built in 1696, and which is one of the largest in the state; 
the Ranchas de Taos and the Fernandez de Taos, built, 
respectively, in 1772 and 1806; the Santuario in Chimayo, 
erected about 1814, and the San Felipe chapel in Old Albu- 
querque, builtin 1707. In Santa Fe are four (one in ruins) 
that are of considerable age: the old San Francisco, built in 
1714; the San Miguel, built in 1606; the Rosario Chapel, 
erected by De Vargas in 1693, and Nuestra Sefiora de 
Guadalupe, built about 1760. In addition, there was the 
Sefiora de Luz (a presidio chapel) erected in 1640 and dis- 
mantled in 1859. 


The story of the New Mexico missions cannot be dis- 
missed without reference to the Archeological and His- 
torical Museum at Santa Fe, since it is intimately associated 
with the subject. This museum, which was dedicated in 
1917, is a composite or replica of six mission churches— 
the San Estevan, the San Felipe, the San Buenaventura, the 
Laguna, the Santa Ana, and the Pecos—blended together 

36 


MISSIONS IN NEW MEXICO 


into one harmonious whole. The structure houses a wealth 
of material collected from the missions as well as from the 
ruins of old Indian pueblos and cliff dwellings. The idea 
was a happy one, for few, if any, of the old mission churches 
can be preserved indefinitely, and in this museum their 
architectural features, interior decorations, and contents 
will be well preserved for future generations. The writer 
commends the idea to the other Southwestern states that are 
standing idly by while their historic old landmarks dis- 
appear. 


37 


IV 
MISSIONS IN ARIZONA 


HE mission chain established by the Franciscans in 

northern New Mexico extended westward into Ari- 
zona. Six missions were founded in the country of the 
Zuius and allied tribes, of which but one was in the present 
State of New Mexico. Those in Arizona were the Marvi, 
Mahauve, San Bernardino, Oraibi, and Mashongamabi. 
Four of these names are Indian: the missions probably were 
known by other names during their day. All five were de- 
stroyed during the rebellion of 1680 and never were rebuilt. 
Even the sites of these ancient missions are not certainly 
known, although it is possible they were located a few years 
ago when an exploring party found, in that region, several 
underground chambers containing human skeletons. It is 
believed these were the cellars of the “lost” missions, and 
that the skeletons are those of the Spanish and Indian neo- 
phytes who took refuge in the cellars and were there killed 
outright or suffocated to death when the buildings were 
burned. 

No further missionary efforts were made in what now is 
the State of Arizona until about 1690, when the Jesuits, 
moving northward from Sonora under the leadership of 
Ensivio Kino, began the establishment of a chain of mis- 
sions and visitas south of the Gila River. This really was 
a northward extension of the large Jesuit field in Sonora. 

38 


MISSIONS IN ARIZONA 


There was, of course, not even an invisible boundary line 
at that time, and the whole of this mission field was in what 
was then known as Pimeria Alta. Of the twenty-nine mis- 
sions and seventy-three visitas in Pimeria Alta, two of the 
missions and eleven (or more) of the visitas were in what 
is now southern Arizona. These, with the years in which 
they were established, where known, were: San Gabriel de 
Guevavi (1690), San Cayetano de Calabazas (1694), San 
José de Tumacacori (1697), San Augustin (1699), San 
Xavier del Bac (1700), San Luis de Bocoancos, San Fran- 
cisco de Asis, San Serafin, San Cosme del Tucson, Santa 
Gertrudes de Tubac, Santa Ana, Santa Clara de Asis, and 
Santa Catarina. 

Of these, only the San Gabriel and the San Xavier are 
known to have been real missions under the Jesuit régime; 
the rest probably were visitas, although some of them seem 
to have had resident priests during a part of their existence. 
There may have been, and probably were, other visitas of 
which we have no record. The San Xavier was the most 
northerly of the chain and was in charge of a lone padre 
much of the time, with no other white man within a day’s 
ride. The present pretentious San Xavier had not been 
built at that time: the mission was a modest adobe structure 
of two or three rooms. Some of its visitas were more than 
twenty miles away. 

The work of these Jesuit missions progressed, notwith- 
standing occasional attacks by desert Indians in which 
sometimes a church was destroyed, until King Carlos III 
of Spain, in 1767, ordered the removal of all Jesuits from 

39 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Spanish dominions. It commonly is stated that the Jesuits 
were expelled, but as a matter of fact they were virtually 
taken prisoners and transported to the island of Corsica, 
on which they were required to remain. ‘The same royal 
order that removed the Jesuits directed the Franciscans to 
assume charge of the Jesuit missions in this country. 

The history of the Arizona missions is a bit hazy at this 
point. Just how many of the missions founded by the 
Jesuits were still in operation when the Franciscans took 
charge is not definitely known. It appears that the Jesuits 
carried away or destroyed most of their records. We can 
find evidence of only six missions and visitas in Arizona that 
were taken over by the friars of the Order of San Francisco. 
These were: San Gabriel de Guevevi (which name they 
changed to Los Angeles de Guevavi), San José de Tumac- 
acori, San Xavier del Bac, San Cosme del Tucson, San 
Cayetano, and San Augustin. In addition to these, it seems 
that the Franciscans established two new visitas: San 
Miguel de Sonoitac and San José del Tucson. 

During the period of reorganization following the exit 
of the Jesuits, and for some years thereafter, the Francis- 
cans in this field were in charge of Fr. Francisco Garcés, 
but the work really was directed from the diocese of Du- 
rango, far to the south, in Mexico. The young Fr. Garcés 
is one of the outstanding figures in the early history of the 
Southwest. He was greatly beloved by the Indians, who 
affectionately referred to the boyish padre as their “Old 
Man.” 

The Arizona missions were in territory possessed by the 

40 


U 
HOLBROD | 





/O 

2 aban Pi 

a * in 

G —~ : \ » ll 
4 pie ag |= 

ae Des an = 
———— Ss aie f ul 

——— 7 

_—————/ ear = 








| 





































































SCALE: MILES i 
f-—_24 — 59 eat hl of Bormeererer 
Ee EE 
—————) 
FIG. 3. MISSIONS IN ARIZON 
San Xavier del Bac. 5. San Augustin del Oyant.\? 
San Fosé de Tumacacori. 6. Santa Clara? 


ff 

Z: 

3. Los Angeles de Guevavi.' 7. San José del Tucson.? 
4. Santa Catarina.\? 8. San Luis de Bocoancos.:? 


1Nothing remains. Visitas. 


The two missions in the southwest were claimed by both Arizona and Cali- 
fornia, and are placed in the California group. 

The five in the northeast were the Marvi, Mahauve, San Bernardino, 
Oraibi, and Mashongamabi, and belonged properly to the New Mexico field. 
Their exact sites are not definitely known. 





MISSIONS IN ARIZONA 


gentle Papago Indians, but they were surrounded by the 
ferocious Yampis, Yumas, Navahoes, Maricopas, and 
Apaches, who frequently attacked the missions. The 
Guevavi, in 1782 or 1783, succumbed to one of these attacks 
in which the padres, soldiers, and some of the neophytes 
were killed and the mission destroyed. It was never re- 
established, the Tumacacori visita being made a mission in 
place of the Guevavi, with several resident padres who 
served the visitas formerly belonging to the ill-fated 
Guevavi. A splendid new church was begun on the site of 
the old Tumacacori visita in 1785. 

The San Xavier was demolished by hostile Indians in 
1768, and about 1785 the present splendid structure was 
begun, and was finished twelve years later. 

In 1775, a route connecting the mission fields of Pimeria 
Alta and California Alta was explored out by one Anza, 
whose work, it seems, was directed by the Governor of Cal- 
ifornia. ‘Then, in 1780, Fr. Garcés established two missions 
—the Concepcién Imaculata and the San Pedro y San 
Pablo—on the lower Colorado River, to serve, in part, as 
way stations between the two mission fields. But these were 
in territory overrun by the murderous Yuma tribe, and the 
career of the two missions was cut short by an Indian attack 
in 1781, in which the forty-six white men at the missions 
were murdered and the women carried into slavery. The 
buildings were totally destroyed by the savages, and no at- 
tempt was afterward made to rebuild them. No trace of 
these two missions remains to-day: there even 1s great argu- 
ment as to whether they were on the Arizona or California 

43 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


side of the river. Most likely there was one on each side. 

Notwithstanding their great distance from their base 
of supplies, the Arizona missions continued to grow in 
strength and importance until 1810, when they began to 
decline as a result of the series of revolutions that began in 
Mexico in that year and continued for more than a decade. 
In 1813, the Spanish Government ordered the seculariza- 
tion of the missions: this order was not generally carried 
out, but it was enforced so far as the missions in Pimeria 
Alta were concerned. All the mission property thereby re- 
verted to the state, except a small parcel of land given to 
each adult male Indian. Then, in 1823, when the padres 
refused to recognize the new Mexican Government, they 
were driven out, and so ended the missionary work in Ari- 
zona. Between 1813 and 1823, these missions had existed 
only as parish churches. 

It is said that agriculture and fruit-growing were prac- 
tised at the Guevavi and the Tumacacori, but not at the San 
Xavier: nevertheless, Kino enumerates a long and appetiz- 
ing list of fruits and vegetables that were grown by the 
Indians at the San Xavier. 

Of the numerous visitas, nothing remains to-day, and 
even the sites of most of them are forgotten. Only a few 
fragments of the walls of the historic Guevavi remain, to- 
gether with traces of other buildings, and the fine old Tum- 
acacorl is now in ruins. This structure was made a 
national monument in 1908, and at that time it was proposed 
to restore the church, but nothing ever has been done in 
that direction. The San Xavier, however, has been kept in 

44 


MISSIONS IN ARIZONA 


a fair state of repair, and was used intermittently as a 
church after the rest of the missions had been permanently 
abandoned. In 1906, the work of restoring the San Xavier 
was begun under the direction of Bishop Granjon, and has 
been skilfully and sympathetically carried out. This 
church now stands as the finest example of Moorish mission 
architecture in America. 


Historica Notes—Miussions OF ARIZONA 

The Arizona mission field was really the northern por- 
tion of the field that occupied the present State of Sonora, 
Mexico. So far as is known, there were but three real 
missions in Arizona, if we except those early ones in the 
northeastern part of the state which belonged to the New 
Mexico field and which were wiped out of existence in 1680. 
The Arizona visitas, of which there were a dozen or more, 
were hardly better than adobe huts (one or two were rather 
pretentious) and have entirely disappeared. 

Los Angeles de Guevavi (3).* The mission of San 
Gabriel de Guevavi was founded by the Jesuits in 1690, and 
when it was taken over by the Franciscans its name was 
changed to Los Angeles de Guevavi. In 1782, the desert 
Indians attacked this mission and massacred all the Span- 
iards, as well as some of the neophytes. It was never there- 
after reoccupied, the visita of Tumacacori being made a 
mission in its place. The Guevavi was an important estab- 
lishment in its day, with visitas at Calabazas, Soniotac, 
Tumacacori, and Tubac. Nothing now remains of this 


*The number following the name of the mission refers to the location of that mission on the 
map on page 4I. 


45 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


historic old establishment except a few fragments of walls, 
irregular heaps of earth, and traces of orchards and gardens. 
It was “lost” for forty years, but was relocated a few years 
ago, in the desert east of Nogales, by an exploring party 
from the University of Arizona. 

San José de Tumacacort (2). The Tumacacori was 
established first as a visita of the Guevavi, and when it was 
made a mission it was rebuilt into an imposing structure. 
It is said that before the Tumacacori began falling to ruin 
it was architecturally superior to the San Xavier (described 
below). It had extensive gardens, orchards, and vineyards, 
with an excellent system of irrigation. The Tumacacori 
succumbed to an Indian attack in 1840, at which time its 
mission work was a thing of the past, and it has never since 
been reoccupied. Much of the interior woodwork was 
burned by the Indians. ‘This mission was made a national 
monument in 1908, but the plans then made to rebuild it 
have never been carried out, and this once beautiful church 
now stands a desolate ruin, stark on the desert. 

San Xavier del Bac (1). ‘The San Xavier was established 
about 1700, but was destroyed by hostile Indians and rebuilt 
several times. In 1785 the present structure was begun, 
and was complete in 1797. It was abandoned as a mission 
in 1823, but has been used as a church at intervals since, and 
is so used at the present time. It is claimed by some writers 
that no agriculture was carried on at the San Xavier, but on 
its grounds was an excellent spring of water,.and Kino, its 
founder, stated that there were luxurious gardens in which 
were grown wheat, maize, beans, peas, lentils, grapes, figs, 

46 


MISSIONS IN ARIZONA 


quinces, pears, oranges, peaches, apricots, apples, mulber- 
ries, pecans, cabbages, melons, lettuce, onions, leeks, garlic, 
pepper, mustard, and mint, together with roses and lilies: 
quite an attractive array. At the present time, however, the 
San Xavier is surrounded only by the desolate and thirsty 
desert, and the effect, when the buildings first come into the 
traveller’s view, is startling. It seems so out of place: one 
hardly expects to find a beautiful cathedral among the cacti 
and sagebrush of a desert. Architecturally, the San Xavier 
ranks first of all the missions established in the New World. 

Near the San Xavier is a stone hill in which is located the 
“Grotto Shrine.” It is said that one of the padres of the 
San Xavier was visited by the Virgin Mary at this place, but 
whether this vision appeared on top of the hill or in the 
grotto, we have been unable to learn. The statue, occupy- 
ing a natural niche above and to the right of the grotto, is 
very beautiful and betrays the hand of a master artist in 
every line. 


While there are no other existing churches in Arizona, 
there were two others that are deserving of mention. These 
were the San José del Tucson and the San Augustin. The 
former was, according to old drawings, a very beautiful 
structure; too pretentious entirely for a visita chapel, and 
may have been used as a mission at one time, although there 
is no record of its having served assuch. The San Augustin 
was a visita chapel erected near Tucson, and was rebuilt 
from time to time. Its lineal descendant is the present San 
Augustin Cathedral in Tucson. 

47 


v 
MISSIONS IN TEXAS 
T APPEARS that, before the end of the 17th Century, 


there were three or four missions on the Mexico side 
of the Rio Grande between El Paso del Norte (El Paso) 
and the “Great Bend,” and as many more between the pres- 
ent towns of Laredo and Brownsville. These were the 
northmost outposts of the mission fields of northeastern 
Mexico. 

The first church within the present State of Texas was 
erected in 1682, where Ysleta now stands, and was built for 
the Indians of the Isleta pueblo who had accompanied Oter- 
min in his second retreat from New Mexico, as mentioned 
in the account of the missions of that state. “There is now a 
ruined church, unquestionably of great age, in Ysleta, that 
is said to be the original one erected there in 1682. 

Nearly a century elapsed after the opening up of the mis- 
sion field in northern New Mexico before any similar action 
was taken with regard to the extensive and fertile domain 
of Texas. [he fact was, Spain had more territory on her 
hands than she could well manage. She claimed nearly all 
of South America, half of North America, all of the West 
Indies and the Philippine Islands, and often it was neces- 
sary for her to make her claims valid by actual occupancy. 

£8 


MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


This, in many cases, she was hard put to itto do. Of neces- 
sity, her overseas armies were split up into ridiculously 
small garrisons: half a dozen was perhaps the average for 
a presidio, and at one time a squad of three soldiers had the 
job of guarding all of Texas against the French of the 
Mississippi valley. 

So long as no other nation threatened to absorb Texas 
(or Tejas, as it was then spelled), Spain made no move to 
take actual possession herself. But when, in 1685, La Salle 
built a fort near La Bahia del Espiritu Santo (“The Bay of 
the Holy Spirit”: now known as Matagorda Bay) and left 
a garrison there, the Spanish were roused to action. They 
did not know exactly where to find this bay, and the first two 
expeditions sent out from Mexico to exterminate the French 
missed their destination. A third expedition, sent out in 
1689 under Alonzo de Leén, entered the bay and found the 
fort, but the Indians had forestalled them in eliminating the 
garrison. De Leén was accompanied by several Francis- 
can friars under Fr. Damien Manzanet, and had been in- 
structed to establish several missions in eastern Texas, but, 
while he led his company into the valleys of the Trinity and 
Neches rivers, he returned to Mexico without having exe- 
cuted this part of his commission. 

The next year he was sent back with 110 soldiers, accom- 
panied by four friars under Manzanet, and this time he suc- 
ceeded in erecting one mission—the San Francisco de los 
Tejas—in an Indian village of the Tejas confederacy. The 
exact site of this mission is in dispute, but most probably it 
was some forty-five miles southwest of Nacogdoches, be- 

49 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


tween the Trinity and Neches rivers. It later was moved to 
a site east of the Neches. 

This was the first outpost established against the French 
in eastern Texas. De Leon returned to Mexico, leaving 
three padres and three soldiers in charge of the San Fran- 
cisco. One of the padres in that same year (1690) estab- 
lished another mission—E] Santisimo Nombre de Maria— 
on the Neches, a few miles north of the San Francisco. 

These two isolated missions, hundreds of miles from any 
other Spanish settlement, were sadly neglected by the secular 
authorities in Mexico. ‘The appeals of the padres for re- 
inforcements and for provisions were, in the main, entirely 
ignored. To make matters worse, the lawless soldiers of 
De Leén’s expedition had aroused the hostility of the In- 
dians, and the six men at the missions were in a rather pre- 
carious situation. Finally, in 1693, it was decided to 
abandon these outposts. The padres buried the mission 
bells and other non-portable property and, accompanied by 
their little “garrison,” returned to Mexico. 

No further action was taken to secure Texas for nearly a 
quarter of a century. Spain and France, during that pe- 
riod, were very good friends, and were allied against most 
of the rest of Europe in the War of the Spanish Succession, 
which lasted from 1701 to 1713. 

But in 1715, a French officer, Saint-Denis, led an expedi- 
tion from Louisiana across Texas clear to the Grande River, 
and his men even had the audacity to bathe in that Spanish 
stream. ‘This, said the Spaniards, was going much too far. 
Saint-Denis was taken as an involuntary guest to Mexico 

50 


MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


City, and an expedition under Domingo Ramon, accom- 
panied by nine friars under Fr. Antonio Margil, was sent 
forthwith into eastern Texas. There, in 1716, the San Fran- 
cisco de los Tejas and the Santisimo Nombre de Maria were 
reoccupied and four new missions—Nuestra Sefiora de los 
Dolores, La Concepcion Purisima de Acuna, Nuestra 
Sefiora de Nacogdoches, and San José de los Nazones— 
were founded. The exact sites of these establishments are 
not known, but all were between the Trinity and Sabine 
rivers, and all were within a day’s journey of the present 
town of Nacogdoches. The presidio of Adaes and the mis- 
sion of Nuestra Sefiora del Pilar were established at about 
the same time, between the Sabine River and the Louisiana 
town of Natchitoches. 

Before going into eastern Texas, Fr. Margil had founded 
the mission of Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe on the lower 
Guadalupe River, and after returning he established three 
more in this coastal district: San Miguel near Matagorda 
Bay, Nuestra Sefiora de Orgnizacco on the San Jacinto 
creek, and El Espiritu Santo de Zufiiga on Matagorda Bay. 
The last mentioned, the most important of this group, later 
was moved to the present site of Goliad. 

In 1718, one of the missions on the Grande River was 
moved to the upper San Antonio River and there estab- 
lished under the name of San Antonio de Valero, being 
named after the Marquis de Valero, Viceroy of Mexico. 
This mission, which was built primarily as an Indian school, 
is the famed Alamo of Texas history. The Viceroy sent a 
garrison to the scene to protect the mission, and in 1731 a 

SI 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


regular presidio—the Presidio de San Antonio de Bexar— 
was established near the Valero. 

The first civil settlement in the state was made where the 
city of San Antonio now stands, the settlers being clustered 
about the presidio of Bexar and the Valero mission. In 
1620, a new mission, some four miles below the Valero, was 
begun under the patronage of the Marquis de Aguayo, and 
as a mark of recognition it was named the San José de 
Aguayo. This mission, which at the time was the finest 
in the New World, was not completed until 1731. 

In the meantime, war broke out between Spain and 
France, and in 1719 the French in Louisiana chased the 
Spanish padres and soldiers out of eastern Texas. These 
retreated to San Antonio, whereupon the Marquis de 
Aguayo recruited a small force, conducted the padres back 
to their deserted missions, and there reinstated them. 

The French thereafter made no more hostile moves in 
this direction; but, nevertheless, the missions in eastern 
Texas made no headway. The Indians were. unruly and 
sometimes hostile, and these isolated outposts received no 
further attention from the secular authorities now that the 
French no longer threatened. Finally, the discouraged 
padres of the San Francisco, Purisima Concepcion, and 
San José de las Tejas asked that their establishments be 
transferred to the vicinity of San Antonio. ‘This was done 
in 1731, and the building of the three new missions below 
San Antonio was begun on the very day the San José de 
Aguayo was finished. The name of the San Francisco de 
las Tejas was altered to San Francisco de la Espada, and as 

52 


a a a ld i ee 








SCALE: MILES 





FIG. 4. MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


z. San Francisco de los Tejas.1? zo. El Espiritu Santo de la Bahia? 
2. El Santisimo Nombre de Maria? iz. El Espiritu Santo de Zuniga? 
3A. El Trinidad (Moved to 3B). 12. Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe? 
3B. Nuestra Senora de Nacogdoches? 73. San Saba? 
4. Nuestra Sefora de la Concepcién Purisima de 14. San Antonio de Valero. 
Acuna? 15. San Fosé de Aguayo. 
5. San Fosé de los Nazones.? 16. Nuestra Sefora de la Concepcién Purisima. 
6. Nuestra Sefiora de los Dolores. de Acuna (Moved from 4). 
7. Nuestra Senora del Pilar.\? 77. San Fuan Capistrano (Moved from 5). 
8. Nuestra Setiora de Orgnizacco? 18. San Francisco de la Espada (Moved from 1). 
g. Nuestra Senora de Loreto? zg. Old San Francisco de la Espada+* 


1E xact location of mission unknown. 
2Nothing now remains of the mission. 











ab 


MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


there already was a San José mission in this district, the 
name of the San José de las ‘Tejas was changed to San Juan 
Capistrano. ‘The Conceptién Purisima was reéstablished 
under the same name. 

The year 1731 marked the beginning of the real growth 
of the colony at San Antonio. A consignment of thirteen 
families from the Canary Islands arrived that year. ‘The 
King had ordered the transportation of 500 families to this 
new colony, and it seems that this many started. But they 
disembarked in Mexico and came up to Texas overland, 
and most of them very judiciously deserted en route. 

However, from this year on, new colonists arrived from 
time to time, and the settlement became firmly established. 
The cathedral of San Fernando was begun in 1731, and the 
three villas, San Antonio de Bexar, San Antonio de Valero, 
and San Fernando, eventually coalesced into one city, which 
was known as San Fernando for many years before it took 
its present name of San Antonio. | 

Several additional settlements were made down the valley 
_ from San Antonio, and in “Mission Valley” are the remains 
of several old churches, the history of which has been lost. 
Some of them may have been mission visitas. Also, at the 
old settlement of San Augustin and at San Saba were ob- 
scure missions concerning which practically nothing 1s 
known. 

The three missions that remained on the eastern frontier 
(the Dolores, Nacogdoches, and Santisimo Nombre) strug- 
gled along after a fashion until 1772, although in 1732 the 
Indians made a strong but unsuccessful attempt to wipe 

55 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


them out. These, as well as the missions in the coastal dis- 
tricts, were wooden structures and have long since disap- 
peared. Except the Espiritu Santo, they were of little 
importance. While each of them had one or more resident 
priests, they met with little success in their attempts to tame 
the savages, and they rank little higher than the visita chapels 
of the other mission fields. 

The missions of the San Antonio group, however, were 
substantial structures of stone. Each was an educational 
institution, and at least three of the five also were industrial 
establishments. For some years the San Antonio de Valero 
was the most important Indian school in America, and the 
San José de Aguayo, at the crest of its fame, was the most 
prominent mission in the New World, although in later 
years several California missions equalled or surpassed its 
record. 

The building of the San Antonio missions was directed by 
skilled artisans, but most of the actual work was done by 
Indian neophytes, who also constructed the excellent irriga- 
tion systems that watered the gardens, vineyards, and 
orchards of the missions. Owing to the depredations of the 
gentile Indians, little livestock was raised, although, at one 
time, the combined herds of the missions numbered some 
12,000 head of cattle, horses, and sheep. ‘The hostility of 
the gentile Indians also prevented the free expansion of the 
Spanish settlements, and the land utilized by the missions 
and Spanish colonists formed one contiguous whole. There 
was none of that isolation that marked frontier life east of 
the Mississippi River, and, for this reason, life at San An- 

56 





MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


toni missions had greater attractions than anywhere else 
within the United States except in the cities. And Miss 
Mary Carter, one of the historians of these missions, is im- 
pelled to wonder ‘“‘what the shivering, snowbound New Eng- 
landers of that day knew of this sunny grape and fig paradise 
down near the Rio Grande.” 

The outstanding figure in the history of the Texas mis- 
sions is that of Fr. Antonio Margil. The first missions 
in eastern Texas were established under the direction of 
that lovable chuckle head, Fr. Manzanet, but their reéstab- 
lishment in 1716 was in charge of Margil, who also founded 
those missions near Matagorda Bay and along the coast. 
In ability, industry, and intellectual calibre Margil de- 
serves to rank next to Junipero Serra of the California field. 
Margil founded the Franciscan college of Guadalupe at 
Zacatecas, Mexico, and served two terms as its president. 
He also served two terms as Padre Presidente of the Texas 
missions. He died in 1726 and was buried in the San Fran- 
cisco Church in Mexico City, but later was removed to the 
cathedral, where his ashes still repose. | 

At about the time we were fighting our war for independ- 
ence, the missions at San Antonio, which then were the only 
ones in existence in Texas, began to decline. ‘This was due 
to a combination of causes, among which were the contin- 
ued influx of new settlers, the interference of the secular 
authorities, and the decimation of the Indians by various 
- epidemics and diseases introduced by the Spaniards. By 
1790, the missions had practically ceased to function as 
such, although they continued in service as parish churches. 

S77, 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The Valero, however, was not so used: its arched roof, 
dome, and towers had collapsed in 1762, and its congrega- 
tion was transferred to the near-by San Fernando. The 
Valero (now known as the Alamo) remained in a state of 
ruin until near 1850. Its dome and towers never have been 
restored, and the present Alamo bears little resemblance to 
the original church. 

In 1794, the Texas missions were secularized, their lands 
being divided up among the Spaniards and Indians, and 
so their brief but glorious career was ended. As a group, 
these were the finest mission churches on the continent, and 
it is a matter for profound regret that they have been al- 
lowed to fall to ruin. 


HistroricaL Notes—MuIssions oF TEXAS 

San Francisco dela Espada (18).* The Espada was first 
established in eastern Texas in 1690, under the name San 
Francisco de los Tejas. Later, it was moved to the east 
side of the Neches River and called San Francisco de 
Neches. Then, in 1731, it was transferred to the San 
Antonio district and named San Francisco de la Espada. 
Only the portable property, of course, was transferred. 
The new church, erected in 1731, later became unsafe and 
was torn down, except the facade. The church was rebuilt 
in 1845, and the facade is all of the present structure that 
formed a part of the old church. 

San Antonio de Valero (14). The Valero was begun 





*The number following the name of the mission refers to the location of that mission on the 
map on page 53. 


58 





a 


MISSIONS IN TEXAS 


about 1716, and was built as an Indian training school. 
The church itself was not begun until 1744, and was fin- 
ished in 1757. It had twin towers, an arched roof, and a 
beautiful dome; these collapsed, through structural weak- 
nesses, in 1762, and as the church (and probably the school) 
was abandoned at that time, the damage was not repaired. 
The débris remained in the church until about 1850. 

The Valero is the immortal Alamo, but the church, which 
usually is pictured as the Alamo, was only a small part 
thereof. The name Alamo is derived from the cottonwood 
trees (Spanish, alamos) that grew in the vicinity. 

San José de Aguayo (15). This, the finest of the Texas 
missions and, until it began falling to ruin, one of the three 
finest in America, was begun in 1720 and finished in 1731. 
Its beautifully carved facade and baptistry window, by the 
Spanish artist Huisar, are studied by artists from all parts 
of the civilized world. In 1868 a part of the north wall of 
the church fell in, and during midnight Mass on Christmas 
eve, 1874, the beautifully coloured dome, which the In- 
dians called the ‘‘day star of their Manitou,” collapsed. The 
structure has otherwise been greatly damaged by vandals 
and treasure hunters, and several of the statues on the facade 
have been maliciously broken. 

The San José had a patio containing eight acres, sur- 
rounded by a high stone wall, with fortified towers at the 
comers. 

Concepcion Purisima (16). The full name of this mis- 
sion is Nuestra Sefiora de la Concepcién Purisima de 
Acuna. It was established in eastern Texas in 1716, and 

59 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


in 1731 was transferred to San Antonio, the new mission 
being built two or three miles below the Valero. The 
church, which is the best preserved of the San Antonio 
group, was repaired in 1850 and rededicated to Nuestra 
Sefiora de Lourdes. It is the only one of the group having 
twin towers, although the Valero originally had two. In 
fact, the Concepcion will give the reader a good idea of 
how the Alamo church originally looked: they were more 
nearly alike than any other two mission churches in the en- 
tire Southwest. 

San Juan Capistrano (17). This mission originally was 
founded in eastern Texas under the name of San José de 
los Nazones, in 1716, and when it was transferred to a new 
site six miles below San Antonio, it was renamed the San 
Juan Capistrano. It has been extensively repaired, but re- 
tains its original form. At most of the missions, it has been 
impossible to determine the use to which various rooms and 
buildings were put; but at the San Juan the storerooms, 
living rooms, dormitories, offices, shops, schoolrooms, 
kitchens, and refectories have been identified. 


60 





VI 
MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


HE missions of California are comparatively mod- 

ern. There were missions in New Mexico that had 
served several generations of Indians and were in ruins a 
century before the first mission was established in Califor- 
nia, and the Indian rebellion of 1680, which occurred three 
fourths of a century after the mission work had become 
firmly established in New Mexico, was a century in the 
past when Fr. Junipero Serra was establishing his chain 
of missions in California. 

The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits had mission 
fields in Old Mexico soon after that country was conquered, 
four centuries ago, and by the middle of the 18th Century 
the Jesuits had a chain of fourteen missions on the penin- 
sula of Lower California, Santa Maria being the most 
northerly. In 1767, as we have seen, King Charles IIT of 
Spain ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish 
dominions, presumably for the reason that the Society of 
Jesus was growing too powerful and arrogant to be toler- 
ated by an absolutist monarch. 

One José Galvez (after whom the city of Galveston is 
named) was sent as Visitador-General to execute the King’s 
decree in Mexico, and this he did with a celerity and thor- 
oughness that make one suspect the task was to his liking. 

61 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The Jesuit missions were turned over to the Franciscans, 
and Fr. Junipero Serra was sent with fifteen friars to as- 
sume charge of the missions in Lower California. 

There he was joined by Galvez, and there Serra’s newly 
conceived project for establishing a chain of missions in 
Upper California was discussed and put into form by these 
two leaders of men. The idea was promptly approved by 
the King, for this move would establish a prior claim upon 
that territory against the Russians, who were showing signs 
of activity on the North Pacific Coast and who already had 
visited San Francisco Bay. Accordingly, King Charles 
directed Galvez to “occupy and fortify San Diego Bay and 
Monterey Bay for God and the King of Spain.” ‘This was 
in 1768. | 

Early the following year, the Franciscan missions in 
Mexico were visited and requested to contribute livestock, 
furniture, supplies, etc., for the projected new missions in 
Upper California. It may be explained here that the usual 
method of requesting supplies, in those days, was to go and 
take what was needed; and this is what Serra and his agents 
did. 

Two vessels were loaded at the port of La Paz and sent 
on up the coast, the livestock being driven overland. Serra, 
on foot and with a crippled leg, accompanied one of the 
overland expeditions, and all eventually arrived at San 
Diego Bay, where a presidio was built and, in 1769, the 
mission of San Diego de Alcala founded. 

With the San Diego provisioned and furnished with a few 
soldiers and colonists, Serra and his helpers took the re- 

62 


; 
: 
; 





MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


mainder of the expedition and one of the ships on to Mon- 
terey Bay, where, in 1770, the mission of San Carlos 
Borromeo was founded and a presidio built. 

The instructions of the King had now been complied 
with, but Serra’s zeal was not abated. In 1771, he founded 
the San Antonio de Padua, and in the same year detailed 
two padres to establish the mission of San Gabriel Arcangel. 
At the latter, outrages perpetrated upon the natives by the 
soldiers who accompanied the padres precipitated an In- 
dian attack; this, however, did not seriously delay the 
formal founding and dedication of the mission. 

The next year, 1772, Serra departed for Mexico to secure 
authority, funds, and supplies for additional missions, and 
also to prefer charges against the Governor of Upper Calli- 
fornia, with whom Serra had quarrelled. All he asked for 
was granted by the Viceroy, and a new governor, who was 
satisfactory to Serra, was appointed. In this journey Serra 
must have travelled some thirty-six hundred miles, and he 
did not get back to California until 1775. 

Upon his return, he sent two padres and half a dozen 
soldiers to establish the San Juan Capistrano. The work 
on this mission was abruptly abandoned when news was 
received of a serious Indian uprising at San Diego, in 
which one of the two padres serving there was among the 
killed. A year later the Spaniards returned and finished 
the Capistrano. 

At this time, Anza made his explorations of the lower 
Colorado and Gila rivers, as mentioned in the account of 
the Arizona field. Upon his return, in 1776, he was sent 

63 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


by Serra to San Francisco Bay where, in the same year, he 
established the mission of San Francisco de Asis—named 
after the founder of the Franciscan order. The next year 
the Santa Clara de Asis was established, thus completing 
a chain from San Diego Bay to San Francisco Bay. 

Then followed a pause in mission building, from 1777 to 
1782, broken only by the establishment, in 1780, of the two 
ill-starred ‘Colorado River missions,” which succumbed to 
an Indian attack of exceptional ferocity the next year. 

In 1782, the indefatigable Serra established the San 
Buenaventura, and with this his active career ended. He 
fell sick shortly after, and died in 1784. He was buried, as 
he requested, in the San Carlos, where his remains still lie. 
Serra was a man of exceptional culture, ability, and energy, 
and no one who ever has studied the record of this remark- 
able Franciscan will deny him first place among all the mis- 
sionaries, Catholic or Protestant, that ever have set foot on 
American soil. Not only as a missionary, but as an artistic 
genius, a teacher of manual training, and a leader of men, 
he stands preéminent. 

But even the loss of this great leader did not for long 
delay the completion of the work he had planned. Serra 
was succeeded by one of his subordinates, Fr. Francisco 
Lasuen, who in many respects was the equal of his departed 
chief. Lasuen founded the Santa Barbara in 1786, and 
then, in 1787, the Concepcién Purisima. An unavoidable 
delay of four years followed, but finally, in 1791, Lasuen 
established the Soledad (Nuestra Sefiora de la Soledad), 
which was the last of the missions authorized in 1774. 

64. 





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FIG. 5. CALIFORNIA MISSIONS 


San Francisco Solano. 13. La Concepcién Purisima# 
San Rafael Arcangel? rg. Santa Inés 

San Francisco de Asis. 15. Santa Barbara. 

San Fosé de Guadalupe? 16. San Buenaventura? 

Santa Clara de Asis.8 77. San Fernando Rey de Espagna. 
Santa Cruz? 18. San Gabriel Arcangel. 

San Fuan Bautista. 19. San Fuan Capistrano. 
Nuestra Seftora de la Soledad. 20. San Luis Rey de Francia. 
San Carlos Borromeo. 21. San Diego de Alcalé} 

San Antonio de Padua} 22. Imaculata Concepcién? 
San Miguel Arcdngel. 23. San Pedro y San Pablo2 


San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.3 
1[n ruins. 
2Nothing remains of these missions. 
3 Restored” out of all semblance to the original structure. 











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MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


Not until 1797 was authority obtained for any additional 
missions, but in that year the Viceroy gave permission for 
five more. Four of these—the San José de Guadalupe, San 
Juan Bautista, San Miguel Arcangel, and San Fernando 
Rey de Espagna—were established that same year, followed 
by the fifth, the San Luis Rey de Francia, in 1798. 

Lasuen died in 1803, and was buried beside his beloved 
chief at Carmel (San Carlos). He was succeeded by Fr. 
Estevan Tapis, who, in 1804, established the Santa Inés, 
which was the last of the chain originally planned by Serra 
thirty years before. But in 1817 the San Rafael Arcangel 
was built to accommodate such of the Indians as could not 
withstand the malarial climate of the San Francisco de Asis, 
and in 1823, a proposed transfer of the Asis to a more 
healthful location resulted in the building of the San Fran- 
cisco Solano. ‘The transfer, however, was prevented by the 
secular authorities, and so the Solano constituted a new 
mission. Its career was very brief: the missions were al- 
ready on the decline when the Solano was established, and 
it entered the field only to share the general disintegration 
and disaster following upon the Mexican Revolution and 
the subsequent hostility of the Mexican Government. 

Some of the California missions are now entirely in ruins, 
and others are slowly crumbling. Two have disappeared 
altogether. A few have been repaired or restored, but, ex- 
cept in one or two cases, the so-called restoration had better 
been left undone. All have suffered from the hands of the 
despoiler and wrecker, especially since this state passed 
intothe Union. The Indian never, and the Mexican rarely, 

67 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


laid violent hands upon the holy relics of the old missions, 
but not so the citizens of our republic. 

Some of these old churches are (or were, in 1908) used 
as hay barns, and one or two have been deliberately wrecked. 
Some of their old bells, we are informed, are now used as 
markers along a road between San Francisco and San 
Diego. The crosses might just as well have been removed 
from the mission churches and planted along the road to 
serve as guideposts for tourists; in fact, they would have 
served this utilitarian purpose much better than bells. 


HistortcaL Notes—MuIssions OF CALIFORNIA 

While the California missions are the latest of all, most 
of the churches of which anything remains having been 
built in the 19th Century, three have entirely disappeared, 
and many of those remaining are in various stages of disin- 
tegration. Their condition can be ascribed to the damp 
climate, earthquakes, and vandals. The earthquake of 1812 
wrecked or damaged every mission in the state. Some of 
them have been “restored” after a fashion. 

San Diego de Alcala (21).* The San Diego, founded 
in 1769, was the first of the California chain. In 1774, it 
was moved five miles inland, and the next year it was at- 
tacked by Indians from the hills, one of its two padres being 
among the killed. A new church, begun in 1780, was dam- 
aged by an earthquake in 1803, and a third, the ruins of 





*The number following the name of the mission refers to the location of that mission on the 
map on page 65. 


68 


y 
i 
4 
' 





MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


which are still to be seen, was finished in 1813. A monu- 
ment marks the ‘site of the first church, in the city of San 
Diego. The ruins of the last are outside the city. The 
San Diego experienced several Indian attacks during its 
existence, but none of them was very formidable. 

San Carlos Borromeo (9). The San Carlos, the second 
of the California chain, was established in 1770 where the 
city of Monterey now stands, but in 1772 it was removed to 
a site on the Carmelo creek, whence the mission gets its 
present name of “Carmel.” Monterey became the capital 
of California in 1776, and was a port of call for all ships 
bound to and from the Philippines. The present San 
Carlos church, which was built in 1794, fell into ruins after 
it was abandoned in 1845, but was restored and rededicated 
in 1884. In this church are buried Junipero Serra and his 
successor, Francisco Lasuen. 

San Antonio de Padua (10). The San Antonio was 
founded in 1771, and a second church was finished in 1818. 
This structure had gradually been falling to ruin, and it now 
is a hopeless wreck, along with its associated. structures. 
The ruins, however, are very interesting, and as the San 
Antonio lies off the route of travel, its surroundings give it 
an aspect of peculiar desolation. In its day, it was one of 
the busiest and most important of the California missions. 

San Gabriel Arcdngel (18). The San Gabriel also was 
founded in 1771. The Indians here volunteered in large 
numbers to aid in building, but their friendship was soon 
alienated by the Spanish soldiers, and conflicts were averted 
at different times only through the efforts of the padres. It 

69 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


was here that the favourite amusement of the soldiers was 
to lasso such of the gentile Indian women as they desired 
and kill the Indian men who attempted to interfere. 

The San Gabriel church was destroyed by the earthquake 
of 1812, and a new one was built shortly after. This sec- 
ond church was extensively repaired in 1886, and continues 
In service. 

San Luts Obispo de Tolosa (12). The San Luis Obispo 
was founded by Serra in 1772 and left in charge of one 
padre, with five soldiers and two Indians. The first church 
was built of logs. In 1776 the mission was attacked by 
desert Indians and all the buildings except the little church 
and one storehouse were burned. Several times, during the 
ensuing ten years, the Indians set fire to the church roof 
with flaming arrows, and eventually a tile roof was substi- 
tuted, the tile being manufactured at the mission. This 
was so successful that tile roofs soon were placed on all the 
missions. The Indians, it is said, considered this move a 
display of poor sportsmanship. 

A. new church was built in 1793. It was “restored” out 
of all semblance to the original structure some years ago. 

San Francisco de Asis (3). This mission, dedicated to 
the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, was estab- 
lished on the site of the present city of San Francisco in 
1776—the year of our independence. It experienced 
trouble with the gentile Indians from time to time, owing 
usually to the thieving propensities of the natives of this 
district, and occasionally a few of them were killed. The 
second church. begun in 1782, still stands in the citv of San 

70 





MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


Francisco, but it has been considerably altered and mod- 
ernized. It now is known as the “Dolores.” 

The old graveyard of this mission is an interesting place. 
Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans have found 
their last resting place in this old Dolores cemetery. Among 
other celebrities, it contains the grave of Don Luis Antonio 
Arguallo, the first Governor of California, and, a few paces 
from his tomb, the grave of one Jim Casey who was hanged 
by the Vigilantes in 1856. 

San Juan Capistrano (19). The Capistrano, dedicated 
to the militant German Franciscan, John Capistran, was 
founded in the same year as the San Francisco de Asis. 
While it experienced trouble with the Indians right from 
the start, it nevertheless prospered, and in 1800 it had 1,050 
converts, 8,500 head of cattle, and 17,000 head of sheep. 
These figures, however, are hardly above the average for 
the other missions. The Capistrano church was not fin- 
ished until 1806, and was a splendid structure with seven 
domes. The earthquake of 1812, which wrought havoc at 
all the missions, caused a tragedy at the Capistrano. It 
occurred on a Sunday, during the hour of morning Mass, 
and the tower of the church, toppling over, crashed down 
through one of the domes and killed forty-three Indian wor- 
shippers. : 

Four more of the domes were deliberately destroyed some 
sixty years ago, and thus a splendid bit of architecture was 
ruined. Some ineffectual attempts at restoration were made 
about twenty-five years ago. 

Santa Clara de Asis (5). The first church at the Santa 

yu 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Clara was begun in 1777. It was twice rebuilt. The first 
church was undermined by high water in 1779, and a new 
one, built on higher ground, was badly damaged by the 
earthquake of 1812. The third church, which was not fin- 
ished until 1822, is now used as a college building, but in 
remodelling it for this purpose it was practically rebuilt. 
The Santa Clara took high rank as a productive mission, 
and the district still is widely known for the excellence of 
its fruits. 

San Buenaventura (16). The Buenaventura was founded 
in 1782, and prospered right from the start. Vancouver, 
the British explorer, visited the Buenaventura, and he re- 
corded that there they raised apples, pears, plums, figs, 
oranges, grapes, peaches, and pomegranates, together with 
bananas (?), cocoanuts (P), sugar cane, and a variety of 
garden vegetables. At one time, the mission possessed 
23,000 head of cattle. 

A new church, begun in 1790, was finished in 1809, but 


was damaged by earthquakes in 1812 and 1818, and in the | 


latter year was partly rebuilt. It still stands, but was reno- 
vated out of all semblance to itself in 1893, so that here, as 
at Santa Clara, the mission as originally built does not exist. 

Santa Barbara (15). This mission, dedicated to the 
youthful martyr, Barbara, was founded in 1786. The 
church built at this time soon became too small, and a larger 
one, constructed of adobe, was finished in 1793. It was 
wrecked by the earthquake of 1812, and on its site a larger 
and more pretentious church was erected in 1820. This 
structure has been kept in a fair state of repair, and is one 

72 


: 
' 
. 
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_ MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


of the most interesting missions in the state, although, archi- 
tecturally, it is inferior to the San Luis Rey. It was seri- 
ously damaged by the earthquake of 1825, but is being 
restored, as nearly as possible, with the original materials. 
The Santa Barbara has a fine garden in which, it is said, 
no woman other than a reigning princess or the wife of a 
president of the United States is permitted. ‘The wives of 
two of our presidents visited this garden, as well as the wife 
of one of the governors-general of Canada. A fourth 
woman once entered, but was promptly ejected. 

La Concepcion Purisima (13). The Purisima was 
established in 1787. Its first church was a temporary struc- 
ture and was replaced by another in 1802. This one was 
wrecked by the earthquake of 1812, and a third church, 
which now is totally in ruins, was begun that same year. 

Santa Cruz (6). The mission of the “Holy Cross” was 
founded in 1790, but the first church was not completed 
until four years later. It was built largely of adobe, and 
the prolonged winter rains of that region played havoc with 
this material. The mission was sacked by a band of out- 
laws from the Spanish town with a French name—Briance- 
fort—and was abandoned in 1818. It later was reoccupied, 
but its new lease on life was short, as Mexico was then in 
the throes of revolution. ‘The church was seriously dam- 
aged by an earthquake in 1840, and its walls collapsed in 
1851. Nothing now remains of the Santa Cruz. 

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad (8). This mission, dedi- 
cated to “Our Lady of Desolation,” was founded in 1791, but 
work on a permanent church was not begun until 1808. 

73 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The Soledad had a comparatively peaceful existence, but de- 
clined rapidly after Mexico won her independence, and its 


life went out when, in 1835, its padre fell dead at the altar | 


while conducting services for his remaining handful of 
faithful Indians. Literally, he died of starvation. 

In the opinion of the writer, there was not (in 1908) a 
more eloquently desolate ruin in the entire mission field than 
that of the Soledad. Could the beautiful statue of “Our 
Lady of Desolation’ be returned to the ruins of the church it 
once graced, it would find a fitting setting. 

San José de Guadalupe (4). ‘The San José was estab- 
lished in 1797, and the wooden church then built was re- 
placed by a more substantial structure in 1809. The San 
José had a rather turbulent history of frequent conflicts with 
the gentile Indians. The mission was some twenty miles 
from the present city of San José. The church has entirely 
disappeared, its final ruin having been accomplished by 
an earthquake in 1868. Nothing except a few scrawny 
olive trees remain on the site, but these still bear their 
fruit. 

San Juan Bautista (7). This mission was founded in 
1797. In 1803, a new church was begun, the original 
church and all other mission buildings having been demol- 
ished by an earthquake. The new one was not finished 
until 1812. ‘The interior decorations of this church were 
executed by a citizen of the young United States whom the 
padres called Felipe Santiago, but whose real name was 
Tom Doak. 

San Miguel Arcangel (11). The church of the San 

74 





MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA 


Miguel is one of the two in California whose interior dec- 
orations are still in a fair state of preservation. The mis- 
sion was established in 1797, and it prospered from the first. 
It had an excellent irrigation system, remains of which are 
still to be seen in the vicinity. A fire in 1806 destroyed the 
woodwork of the church and entirely consumed several 
storehouses. The church probably was repaired, but a 
new one was started shortly after and was completed in 1818. 
This church remains intact and in service to-day. 

San Fernando Rey de Espagna (17). The San Fer- 
nando also was one of the four missions founded in 1797, a 
house being used for religious services until the church was 
completed in 1806. This structure was demolished by the 
earthquake of 1812, and a new church, finished in 1818, is 
now also in ruins. 

San Luis Rey de Francia (20). This was the last of the 
California missions established in the 18th Century. The 
church, however, was not completed until 1802. It has not 
suffered greatly from earthquakes, has been kept in a fair 
state of repair, at least on the inside, and is now used as a 
college in charge of the Order of Franciscans. Its 
original interior decorations remain almost intact. From 
the viewpoint of the architect, the San Luis Rey is the finest 
of the California missions. 

Santa Inés (14). This mission, dedicated to the martyred 
St. Agnes, was founded in 1804, but the church, completed 
shortly after, was totally wrecked by the earthquake of 1812. 
A new church, finished in 1817, still stands. The water for 
the Santa Inés was brought from the mountains, several 

75 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


miles away, in pipes and flumes made and installed by the 
Indians. The remains of these are still to be seen. 

San Rafael Arcangel (2). This mission, founded in 
1817, was built to accommodate some of the neophytes of 
the San Francisco de Asis who could not withstand the 
malarial climate of that locality. Not a trace of the San 
Rafael now remains. 

San Francisco Solano (1). The Solano, the last of the 
Spanish missions founded in the New World, was built in 
1823 and was intended to replace the San Francisco de Asis, 
but the transfer never was made. ‘The missions were on the 
decline when the Solano was established, and its history was 
very brief. The church still stands, but it is in a disreput- 
able state of repair. 


Most of the missions had outlying visitas, and two or three 
of these chapels still are in existence. One of the four vis- 
itas of the San Gabriel was the Reina de los Angeles, located 
where the city of Los Angeles now stands. Two visitas, the 
Pala chapel and the presidio church at Monterey, are shown 
in our mission pictures. 

The two ill-starred Colorado River missions—the Con- 
cepcion Imaculata and the San Pedro y San Pablo—have 
been claimed by both Arizona and California, but not a 
trace of them has been in existence for more than a century, 
so it matters little to which field they actually belonged. 


76 


VII 
THE INDIANS* 


tribes west of the Mississippi River was represented 
in the Southwest. The exact range of each of the nomadic 
tribes during the period of Spanish occupancy, however, is 
in doubt. The Spaniards made no attempt to classify the 
natives ethnically, and to them all wandering bands of In- 
dians were “Apaches”: an error that has been carried right 
on down into some of our modern histories as regards cer- 
tain tribes of the southwestern United States and northern 
Mexico. 

In Texas were several branches of the extensive Shoshone 
family, of which the Comanches, Apaches, and Kiowas 
were the most numerous. ‘To such of this family as occu- 
pied eastern and coastal Texas, the Spaniards gave the name 
“Tejas,” and subdivided them into numerous groups, such 
as the Nazones, the Nacogdoches, etc. 

In north central New Mexico were the Picoris, Teguas, 
‘Cuares, and Jemez tribes, comprising the Pueblo family. 
West of their territory, in northwestern New Mexico and 
northeastern Arizona, were the Zufis, which while a 
pueblo-dwelling tribe, belonged to the Shoshone family. 
Encircling these to the northwest, west, and southwest were 


DIN cites every one of the great “families” of Indian 





*The classification of the Indians here used is essentially that given by Dr. J. C. Ridpath. 


ay! 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


the Hopis, Moquis, and Navahoes, remotely descended from 
the Athabascan branch. In northwestern and western Ari- 
zona, and thence southward, was the Yuma family, 
comprising the Yumas proper, the Yampis, the Tantos, the 
Maricopas, the Wallipis, the Mohaves, the Cocopas, the 
Cochinis, and the Quemeyas. Also in southern Arizona 
and Sonora were the Papagoes, related to the Toltecs and 
Aztecs of Mexico. 

The coast tribes of California were the Runsiens, extend- 
ing from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles, and the 
Dieguenos from Los Angeles southward to Lower Cali- 
fornia. In the interior of California were the Snake In- 
dians of the Shoshone family. 

The Indians of the mission fields also may be classified, 
artificially, as nomadic, semi-nomadic, and sedentary. ‘The 
nomadic tribes—the Kiowas, Comanches, and Apaches— 
used portable habitations called “tepees,” which they moved 
from place to place following the migrations of the game 
on which they depended for subsistence. ‘The semi- 
nomadic, which were the tribes of California, southern 
Arizona, and the adjacent portion of Mexico, lived in vil- 
lages of rather temporary structures which they usually 
abandoned when migrating. These tribes depended chiefly 
upon fishing and hunting for food, but practised some agri- 
culture, and were not averse, when other provisions failed, 
to go on a diet of grubs, grasshoppers, nuts, and roots. ‘The 
sedentary tribes—the Pueblo Indians and the Zuftiis of New 
Mexico—built permanent habitations, assembled in com- 
pact communities, and depended primarily upon the prod- 

78 


THE INDIANS 


ucts of the soil for a living, although they supplemented 
their food supply by some hunting and fishing. ‘They never 
migrated except under great stress. 

The New Mexico missions were fortunate as regards the 
type of Indians with which they had to deal. The Pueblo 
tribes were the most tractable and the most intelligent of all, 
and were perhaps the most cleanly of any within the United 
States, as they are to-day. They practised irrigation, raised 
vegetables and grains, manufactured textile fabrics, and 
were skilled in the making of artistic pottery. They 
were, however the most reluctant of all to abandon their 
pagan religion: in fact, they never have entirely abandoned 
ite 

These Pueblo tribes lived in exceedingly compact vil- 
lages, and their dwellings, of adobe-brick or stone, had a 
wide range of size and style, although the plan always was 
rectangular. The larger structures were two or three 
stories high and contained several families. These Indian 
villages have been called “human beehives,” but the term 
‘human hornets’ nests” would be more accurately descrip- 
tive of their structure, for they often were labyrinths of 
rooms, passageways, and stairs, the upper stories being 
reached by climbing over the lower ones. These pueblos 
sometimes were built out on the plain, but the Indians 
seemed to prefer a higher situation that could more easily 
be defended. Some of the old pueblos have been destroyed 
or abandoned, and a few new ones have been built, but 
many of them are practically the same as when Coronado 
first saw them, and are inhabited by the lineal descendants 

79 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


of those dusky natives that gazed with awe and astonish- 
ment upon the glittering Spanish cavaliers four centuries 
ago. 

It should be remarked that while the Pueblo tribes were 
gentle and unwarlike, they were capable of concerted action, 
and for that reason were potentially the most dangerous of 
any of the Southwest. They were slow to wrath, but when 
aroused were formidable, and they struck the white race 
the heaviest blow it ever has received on this continent. » 

Of the pueblo-dwelling tribes, the Zufiis probably were 
further advanced in civilization than any other within the 
mission field. 

The Yuma family of the extreme Southwest was of a stock 
distinct from the surrounding tribes. They were tall and 
athletic, and were more aggressive than the Papagoes or 
the Indians of California and New Mexico. In intelli- 
gence and civilization they were superior to the California 
tribes, and while their leading occupations were hunting 
and fishing, they also raised corn, pumpkins, beans, and 
other vegetables. ‘They manufactured pottery and made 
baskets that were watertight. Another evidence of their 
progress in civilization is found in the fact that they had a 
very intoxicating drink prepared from fermented beans, to 
which they still resort when oppressed by mundane cares. 
Their dwellings may be classed as semipermanent, and were 
constructed by planting slender poles in a circle of some 
twenty or twenty-five feet diameter, bending their tops in to 
a common centre, and covering this framework with skins, 


bark, or brush. Over this covering was placed mud, sod, or - 


80 


i 
4 
: 





THE INDIANS 


grass, giving the whole the appearance of a low, squat hay- 
stack. Often the interior was excavated to a depth of three 
or four feet. These dwellings had no windows, and a low 
aperture served for a door. Very similar dwellings were 
used by the Papagoes and the California Indians, and were 
assembled into villages which the Spaniards called ranch- 
erias. 

The condition of the California Indians was lower than 
that of any other tribes with which the Spaniards came into 
contact. Ridpath says that “their social condition was de- 
graded, and the comparatively easy climatic conditions 
under which they lived could hardly compensate for the 
wretched estate of the races of this region.” However, it 
must be said in their favour that they showed more rapid 
advancement, under instruction, than any other tribes of 
the mission fields. "The Dieguenos were more warlike than 
the Runsiens, but otherwise the two tribes were very much 
alike and were closely related. Under the tutelage of the 
padres they became good farmers, herdsmen, weavers, and 
craftsmen, and had the Mexican Government or the later 
United States Government shown a modicum of intelligence 
in their treatment of these tribes, we would not now have to 
record their relapse. Their condition to-day is pitiable, 
and is much worse than it was at the beginning of the 19th 
Century. Dr. G. W. James, who, perhaps, made a more 
careful and impartial study of this subject than any other 
man, declared that of the three nations—Spain, Mexico, and 
the United States—the first was most intelligent and just in 
its treatment of the California Indians, and the last the worst. 

SI 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


With this conclusion the present writer is obliged to 
agree. 

The exact range of each tribe during the mission period 
is somewhat in doubt, and unquestionably many of the 
nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes shifted more or less dur- 
ing the three centuries of Spanish dominion. A westward 
drift of even the Pueblo tribes was perceptible during this 
period, owing to the increasing pressure of the Plains tribes 
on the east. The historian, therefore, is discreetly vague 
in discussing the distribution of the native races of the South- 
west at the coming of the white man. 

While in each mission field a majority of the neophytes 
were Indians who had voluntarily accepted Christianity and 
the authority of the padres, some were captured and com- 
pelled to undergo baptism, and were then put to work. Such 
drastic measures were not entirely approved by the padres, 
but the overzealous secular authorities had little patience 
with the slow methods of the missionaries. ‘Their idea was 
to round up the natives once for all and forcibly baptize 
them, just as was done by King Clovis with the pagan Ger- 
manic tribes ten centuries before. 

Enforced service, however, must have been rather lenient, 
as a rule, for nearly all the captive Indians under the tutelage 
of the padres came to prefer it to their former life of free- 
dom and hardship. 

We already have mentioned that the padres endeavoured 
to locate their missions in or near Indian villages, or in 
districts where the villages were clustered thickly. With 
the exception of Texas, therefore, all the mission fields were 

82 


= 


| 





THE INDIANS 


in territory possessed by sedentary or semi-sedentary tribes, 
for permanent or semi-permanent towns were not to be 
found in regions overrun by nomads. 

When any race or tribe becomes settled and fixed to the 
soil, it loses its warlike propensities. Here, then, was an 
additional reason why the padres preferred the sedentary 
Indians. They were safer and more pliable. Missions 
could be scattered far apart in their territory, and this was 
done in New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In Texas, 
on the other hand, the only missions that survived were those 
that were huddled close together for mutual protection. It 
is true that the Texas Indians lived in villages, but these were 
portable; and Fr. Manzanet recorded, with some surprise, 
that a large region in that state, where there had been numer- 
ous villages in 1689, was entirely deserted when he returned 
there the following year. 

The question often has been asked, why the padres chose 
for mission fields some of the least attractive districts. of the 
Southwest. Centuries ago, the warlike nomadic tribes 
forced the peace-loving sedentary people out of the most 
desirable regions, and the latter had to be content with what 
the victors did not want. In the desert regions of Arizona 
and New Mexico, nomadic peoples could not exist; hence, 
they were quite willing that these should be preémpted by 
the sedentary races. 


83 


VIII 
LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


HEN a mission was founded, the congregation that 

heard the dedicatory Mass usually consisted of a 
handful of soldiers and labourers, together with such In- 
dians as could be enticed into the scene. 

Amicable relations were established with the natives by 
means of food and trinkets, although it is of record that 
sometimes the Indians were forcibly detained—if there were 
not too many of them on hand—and once or twice soldiers 
went out and captured a few natives in order to have the 
tribe represented at the dedication. Most of the Indians, 
of course, remained in hiding until satisfied that the white 
strangers meant no present harm, but their curiosity event- 
ually led them into camp. 

Several of the missions in the Sonora-Arizona field were 
established at the request of the Indians. They weren’t par- 
ticularly anxious for their souls’ salvation, but they wanted 
protection from their more aggressive neighbouring tribes, 
and, in addition, they had learned how their brethren at 
near-by missions were being taught how to weave wonder- 
ful cloth, and build houses that didn’t leak, and raise mirac- 
ulous crops of foodstuffs from the soil, and how these more 
fortunate tribesmen had meat and bread every day instead 

84 


LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


of grubs and grasshoppers; and naturally they desired the 
same things for themselves. 

At the start, it must have been difficult for the padres to 
make their intentions clear to the natives, for they could con- 
verse only by signs unless they happened to have a native 
interpreter along. But it was not long until the padres 
picked up a great deal of the Indian tongue, and from the 
very start they began teaching the Spanish language to the 
natives. 

Beyond an understanding and acceptance of certain 
fundamentals of religious belief, it was not considered nec- 
essary for the Indian to comprehend the Christian faith to 
become a Christian. Simple baptism conditionally saved 
his soul. At the same time, an earnest effort was made to 
teach the natives more about the Christian faith after they 
were baptized. The primitive mind of the Indian was in- 
capable of grasping an abstract idea; hence, most of the 
teaching was through what modern pedagogues call ‘object 
lessons.” 

The position of the padre in his relation to the neophytes 
was that of a father toward his children. He meted out 
punishments for misdemeanours and rewarded good be- 
haviour. The civil authorities were instructed not to in- 
terfere between the padres and their converts except where 
an Indian was guilty of a serious offense. The Indian was 
made to understand that while baptism conditionally saved 
his soul, the padre through the Sacrament of Penance held 
the keys to heaven and to purgatory, and under certain con- 
ditions had the power of withholding those keys. This in 

85 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


part may account for the influence of the padre over his 
neophytes. Then, too, as already has been suggested, the 
Indian was quick to see that the comparatively comfortable 
life at the missions, with its abundant food, its well-built 
cabins and its training in the arts and crafts of civilized 
life was, notwithstanding its daily tasks, ample compensa- 
tion for the loss of his wild freedom with its hardships, un- 
certain food supply, and frequent conflicts with hostile 
tribes. The neophytes at a single mission frequently in- 
creased from one or two hundred at the end of the first year 
to two or three thousand at the end of twenty-five years. 

Besides being instructed in the Christian faith, the mission 
Indians were taught the crafts of civilized life—the hewing 
of stone, the manufacture of brick and tile, and the laying 
of walls, the weaving of cotton, wool, and hair into fabrics, 
the manufacture of hides into leather and leather goods, 
iron working—in fact, all the trades known to the Spaniards 
were taught to the natives in so far as the materials therefor 
were at hand or procurable. Wherever water was obtain- 
able in sufficient quantities, irrigation systems were con- 
structed, and in the mission fields, gardens, and orchards the 
choicest of fruits, grapes, and vegetables were grown by the 
Indians; on the pastures and ranges were great herds of 
cattle, sheep, and goats tended by Indian herdsmen. Geese, 
ducks, poultry, and swine also were raised. It required 
large quantities of provisions to feed the numerous mission 
Indians, and it is said that at one of the larger California 
missions, in its days of prosperity, one hundred head of 
beeves, sheep, and goats were slaughtered each week. 

86 


Se eT et CE ee Oe ee oe eee 


LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


While the padres frequently expressed dissatisfaction 
with the slow advancement of the Indians, it must be con- 
ceded that they really made excellent progress. A race 
cannot be raised from savagery to civilization in one gen- 
eration or in one century. Viewed in the light of the sub- 
sequent retrogression of most of the mission tribes, it is seen 
that their advancement under the padres was very encourag- 
ing, and had it been kept up, they eventually would have 
been able to hold the ground they had gained. 

Most of the mission buildings, the construction of which, 
under the existing limitations of material, would have done 
credit to skilled masons, were built by Indian labour; irri- 
gation systems that are pronounced flawless by modern 
irrigation engineers were constructed by the natives; the 
articles turned out by the Indian craftsmen were, in the 
main, of good workmanship; they raised excellent crops of 
fruit, vegetables, and grain under handicaps that would 
daunt a modern agriculturist. It has been pointed out by 
others that all these things were done under the supervision 
of Spanish artisans. But as a general rule, the finished 
product represents the skill of the workman and not that 
of his overseer: if this were not so, then in our shops and 
factories it would be necessary that only the foremen be 
skilled workers. 

At most of the missions were Spanish colonists. Their 
dwellings were as a rule located apart from those of the 
natives, but it appears that all worked together, and they 
certainly worshipped in the same church. The Indian 
girls had quarters to themselves until they married, where- 

87 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


upon they took up their residence in the “married quarters.” 

Both the white colonists and the mission Indians were 
subject to the law as administered by the civil authorities, 
but the authority of the padres over the neophytes was not 
often interfered with or questioned. Even where a neo- 
phyte was guilty of a serious offense, it appears that the 
padre usually was consulted before sentence was pro- 
nounced. But not always. In one instance, in which four 
chiefs had been found guilty of inciting rebellion, the Span- 
ish officer silenced the protesting padres with, “You will co- 
operate for the good of their souls in the understanding that 
if they do not accept baptism they die on Saturday morning. 
And if they do, they die just the same!” 

It often has been charged, and is more or less generally 
believed, that the padres were unnecessarily severe, and 
sometimes cruel, in their treatment of the Indians under 
their authority. The padres cannot truthfully be charged 
with cruelty, and if at times they were severe, the fault was 
of the age and not of the individual. It is hardly fair to 
these priests to judge them by the standards of the 20th Cen- 
tury. Rather let them be judged according to the standards 
of their own times. When they were permitting Indians 
to be sentenced to slavery for serious crimes, our ancestors 
were sentencing their fellow men to lifelong slavery for 
debt and were imposing perpetual slavery upon black men 
for no cause at all. The padres occasionally had an Indian 
flogged for some misdemeanour; but at the same time, our 
ancestors in New England were flogging men for kissing 
their wives in public, were making it a penal offense for a 

88 





ee ae i 


LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


man to wear long hair or smoke in public, and were impos- 
ing the death penalty for a score of offenses. 

And it may be added that the padres were establishing 
schools for the Indians at the time when Governor Berkeley 
was thanking God that there were no free schools in Vir- 
ginia. 

Another prevalent belief is that the mission Indians were 
held in a state of slavery. Such belief cannot survive in- 
vestigation. At most of the missions, the Indians greatly 
outnumbered the whites: in some cases, more than ten to 
one. Seldom were there as many as a dozen soldiers at any 
one of the presidios: usually no more than half a dozen; 
and few of the presidios were located at missions. Force 
would have been required to hold the Indians in bondage. 
During the daytime, they were scattered; some of them in 
the shops, some working in the fields and orchards; some 
tending herds out on the ranges. What prevented them 
from taking to their heels if they desired to escapeP Oc- 
casionally, one or two seized the opportunity to desert, but 
this proves nothing more than that all could have deserted 
had they chosen to do so. 

Captured gentile Indians and those of the neophytes that 
had been guilty of serious offenses were sometimes sub- 
jected to involuntary servitude, and in the early days of 
the Mexico and New Mexico missions, unoffending Indians 
were enslaved by the Spanish colonists; but this was done 
over the protests of the padres and against the orders of the 
King of Spain. And we have seen how in New Mexico the 
Spaniards paid dearly for this indiscretion. 

89 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The mission Indians were, of course, subjected to 
restraint of varying degrees. Many of them, of proved 
fidelity, had practically unlimited liberty and even were 
made overseers of various mission activities. The “honour 
system,” which we like to regard as something quite 
modern, was used with satisfactory results at many of the 
missions. 

The Indians submitted to the discipline of the missions 
much as a student or apprentice accepts the discipline of 
the classroom or workshop, except that mentally they were 
really children and could be governed only through their 
fears and emotions. Most of the neophytes conceived a 
genuine affection for their padres, and there are numerous 
instances of record where, in attacks by hostile Indians, the 
neophytes unhesitatingly courted death in order to save 
their padres from harm. At one of the California missions, 
the Indians, for two or three generations, prayed before the 
picture of one of their departed padres, saying it was better 
to pray to a saint they had known in the flesh than to those 
they had only heard about; and among the Papagoes of 
southern Arizona the name of Fr. Garcés still is spoken 
with reverence. | 

As in all savage tribes of whatever race, the adult males 
were inclined to be lazy, and when their overseers were In- 
dians like themselves, we suspect they were not excessively 
weary at the end of the day. Prof. Bernard Moses says that 
the working day at the missions did not begin until 9 a.m., 
and that three hours’ rest was taken in the middle of the day. 
Nevertheless, at the industrial missions, there nearly always 

go 





LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


was a large surplus of food products and manufactured 
goods. 

The communal system practised at the missions has been 
subjected to criticism, and perhaps justly; but this criticism 
would have more weight if it could be demonstrated that 
the Indians have since fared as well under any other sys- 
tem. And by this we mean their mental and moral devel- 
opment, as well as their physical well-being. 

A mission was a beehive of industry, notwithstanding the 
short working hours and the Indian’s inclination to take 
things easy. There were the ring of the builder's hammer 
and the tapping of the stone-cutter’s mallet; the rhythmic 
clatter of the looms and the measured beat of the sledge on 
the anvil; the lowing and bleating of herds and the noisy 
gabbling of ducks and geese. There were no clocks, and 
the passage of time was marked by the ringing of the sweet- 
toned bells, beginning with matins at daybreak and con- 
tinuing at intervals during the day. With the evening bell, 
the labour of the day ceased; the Indians trooped in from 
field and orchard and vineyard, the herdsmen brought their 
flocks into the corrals for the night; the racket of swinging 
tools ceased, and the shops were closed and locked, and all 
hied themselves to their domiciles or gathered around the 
great tables of steaming food under the arches of the mis- 
sion kitchen. 

After supper, there were religious services for the faith- 
ful, and in the growing dusk could be heard the monotonous 
chaunts of the Indians, the shouts of playing children, and 
maybe the love song of some Spanish Romeo. In the cool 

QI 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


seclusion of their private gardens, the padres relaxed from 
their daytime severity—a severity used to mask kindly and 
sympathetic hearts—and recited over the incidents of the day 
while discussing plans for the morrow. 

Could one go back one and a quarter centuries and pay 
a visit to one of the Southwestern mission fields, he would 
see much that would be interesting. Most of the region 
was a trackless wilderness of mountainous plateaus, pine- 
forested uplands, and flat, treeless plains studded with sage- 
brush and cacti. The visitor, set down in this primeval wild, 
would eventually strike a trail, winding and turning about 
without regard to the points of the compass. If he fol- 
lowed this trail as it led him, it would take him over burning 
desert or through majestic forests, along tinkling mountain 
streams or atop the crest of some mountain ridge, until, in 
an hour or a day or a week, distant chimes would reach his 
ears, and after a while a settlement, with a beautiful white 
mission church as its crowning jewel, would come into view. 
Upon arriving there, the traveller would receive a kindly 
welcome and would be given food, drink, and shelter. In 
the evening the padres would entertain him in their garden 
where, over a bottle of good wine, he would be expected to 
give them news of the outside world, from which the mis- 
sions were practically cut off. The next day, unless he 
desired to proceed upon his way, he would be shown the 
various activities of the mission, and the padres would take 
pride in exhibiting’ their best native workmen while keep- 
ing the blockheads in the background, just as is done in our 
manual-training schools to-day. When the visitor was 

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LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


ready to depart, he would receive the benediction of the 
padre superior and proceed on his travels, probably accom- 
panied by some stalwart Indian detailed to show him the 
way where the trail branches. Or, possibly, one of the 
padres about to start for some distant visita would take ad- 
vantage of this opportunity to travel in company.* 

The Roman Catholic Church, and consequently the mis- 
sions, had many feast days on which little work was done; 
and the Indians, even more than the whites, entered whole- 
heartedly into the spirit of the holiday. These church fiestas 
were a curious blending of Christian and pagan ceremony. 
They passed away from most of the mission fields with the 
dispersion of the Indians, but still are observed in several 
of the New Mexico pueblos, in which field the pagan fea- 
tures of the church festivals were most prominent from the 
start. They are very instructive as showing how Chris- 
tianity must have been engrafted upon the pagan religion of 
our own race when Christianity was first introduced. 

At several of the missions are found unmistakable re- 
mains of former subterranean passages. The use to which 
these passages were put is not certainly known. Some in- 
vestigators declare that they were nothing more than long 
cellars used for storage; others have insisted that the differ- 
ent missions were connected by underground tunnels! The 
construction of a tunnel twenty or thirty miles long would 
be a considerable undertaking. It is probable that these 
passages led from the mission churches to hidden exits a 





*Prepared from actual accounts, by French and English explorers, of visits to various mis- 
sions.—C, H. 


95 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


short distance away, so that, in the event of a formidable 
Indian attack, the inhabitants of the mission could escape 
unseen. In some cases, it is certain that subterranean pas- 
sages led to the mission well or other source of water supply. 
Most of the missions were built with a view to their defense, 
and had enclosed yards, or patios, surrounded by buildings 
and stone walls, into which the mission population was 
herded when attacked by hostile tribes. 

- It has been asserted that the group of missions at San 
Antonio were connected by subterranean passages, portions 
of which have been located. ‘This may be true, for the mis- 
sions were within rifle shot of each other, and the free 
Indians were more aggressive than those of any other field. 
The construction of such tunnels would be a formidable 
undertaking, although by no means an impossible one. It 
is related as a rather doubtful legend of the Texas missions 
that hostile Indians once located and burrowed into one of 
these passages, intent upon capturing the mission from the 
inside and killing such of the Spaniards as could not escape. 
But they were seen in the act, and were not molested, ade- 
quate preparations being made in the meantime to meet 
their attack. As soon as the last one had disappeared into 
the tunnel, the hole was covered and dense clouds of smoke 
were introduced into the passage, suffocating the attacking 
party before they could break through the barricade at the 
end of the passage. 

In reading the histories of the missions, however, one is 
likely to gain an exaggerated idea of the conflicts with the 
gentile Indians. Wars always occupy more than their share 

96 


‘ 
é 
: 
i 





LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


of space in written history. The missions experienced 
numerous conflicts with the unchristianized natives, but 
with the exception of the general rebellion in New Mexico 
in 1680, none of these involved more than two or three mis- 
sions, and usually only one. At many of the missions in 
New Mexico and in California, children were born, grew 
up to manhood and womanhood, grew old and passed away, 
without once witnessing an Indian attack. If we except 
the general massacre of 1680 in New Mexico, there were 
fewer whites killed in all the mission fields during the one 
to three centuries of their existence than were killed in 
Massachusetts and Connecticut during the one century of 
their Colonial period, although the total settled area was 
about three times as great in the mission fields as in those 
two New England states. 

In each field, the missions were connected by trails, and 
the different fields were similarly connected with each other 
and with Mexico City. These trails usually followed the 
line of least resistance and consequently meandered about 
a good deal. Rough country was avoided as much as pos- 
sible, and in addition it was necessary to keep out of the 
way of hostile tribes, to cross streams where the fording was 
safe, and, in desert country, to connect the widely separated 
watering places. 

Missions and Spanish colonies were established at favour- 
able points on several of the trails in Mexico, and these, in 
course of time, grew into villages, while the trails gradually 
grew into roads. Two or three old trails in Mexico are 
now approximately followed by railways, which, in connect- 

97 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


ing the towns, naturally followed, approximately, the routes 
laid out by the Spanish padres two or three centuries before. 
The trail connecting the California missions is now a high- 
way bearing the name El Camino Real (Royal Road), al- 
though the rectangular survey has thrown the road off the 
direct line of the trail in a few places. A transcontinental 
highway from San Antonio, Texas, through El Paso, Texas, 
and Tucson, Arizona, to San Diego, California, follows what 
‘once was an old mission trail, and still is known as the Old 
Spanish Trails Highway. One may now travel from San 
Antonio to San Diego in five days over this road, but to the 
pioneer padre and Spanish travellers such a trip was a seri- 
ous undertaking, occupying at least two months, and not 
to be undertaken solus if there was any possible chance of 
company. It led the footsore traveller over windswept mes- 
quite deserts, up steep mountain cafions, and through 
gloomy upland forests, where no other human being was 
seen for days at a time. ‘There were several stretches of 
the trail where it was two days’ travel from one source of 
water to the next, and it was almost impossible to secure 
food en route except at El Paso and at Tucson. 

Another old trail was the one running from Mexico City 
through El Paso to the mission field of northern New 
Mexico, with its northern terminus at Santa Fe. This, the 
oldest road in the United States, is still in use, but the main 
highway from Santa Fe to El Paso now follows the old trail 
less than half the way, the rest of it being used only for local 
travel. It is of considerable historic interest: Onate moved 
northward over this route in 1598, caravans of Spanish cav- 

98 











LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 


aliers and colonists used it; Otermin led his defeated army 
down it in 1680; other Spanish armies advanced and re- 
treated over it between 1680 and 1690, and in 1692 and 1693 
Diego de Vargas led his troops northward on this trail. 

Still another old trail is the road between San Antonio, 
Texas, and Mexico City via Laredo on the Grande River: 
this trail originally extended from San Antonio on to the 
mission field in eastern Texas. Another, which in its day 
was perhaps more used than any other, was the trail connect- 
ing Tucson with Mexico City. Overland travellers bound 
for California used this route. 

In the early mission days, most of the travel was on horse- 
back and muleback, but it seems that the padres preferred 
to walk, even after carts and wagons were introduced. Rid- 
ing probably was not considered consistent with their vows 
of poverty (no Franciscan was permitted to own any prop- 
erty), and besides, travelling on foot was highly conducive 
to introspection and meditation. But he who ever attempts 
a pedestrian tour over the burning desert trails of the South- 
west, as the writer has done, will come to have a great respect 
for the endurance of these old padres. 


99 


IX 
MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


XCEPT in southern Texas, the first mission churches 
were simple structures, consisting of a single chapel 
with sometimes a baptistry and a sacristy added. Later, 
especially in California and Arizona, these were replaced 
by substantial churches, designed by Spanish architects. 
The padres themselves were architects of no mean ability. 
The mission churches near San Antonio, Texas, are the 
original structures erected between 1716 and 1732, and in 
New Mexico several of the first churches, built between 
1598 and 1630, are still standing. In the latter state there 
was no progressive improvement in mission architecture; 
in fact, some of the oldest of the churches were the largest 
and most pretentious of all. 

As we already have remarked, most of the work of build- 
ing was done by Indians, and when one views such architec- 
tural gems as the San José de Aguayo, the San Xavier, or 
the San Luis Rey, one finds it difficult to believe that these 
were erected by unskilled workmen, of materials that had 
to be found and shaped on the spot, and with only the 
simplest kind of tools. Confronted with any one of these 
three handicaps, no modern builder would engage to erect 
such structures: he would declare it impossible. 

A great deal has been written about mission architecture. 

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MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


The present writer is not an architect and cannot discuss 
this phase of his subject at any great length; besides, the 
mission churches present such a variety of style that a com- 
plete and detailed discussion thereof would serve only to 
weary the reader. No two churches were built to the same 
plan, and each reveals some whim of its designer that gives 
it individuality. It was the intention of the padres to face 
the cruciform churches to the east (entrance on west), but 
as they were without compasses or clocks, they often erred 
considerably in establishing the cardinal points. The San 
Xavier is the only exception to the rule: it faces the 
north. 

The mission churches of the Southwest, however, may be 
divided into two groups. One group, including those of 
Texas, Arizona, and California, reveals a pronounced and 
sometimes predominating Moorish influence, and may 
properly be called “Moorish-Mission.” The other group, 
including those of New Mexico, is based upon the style 
of the Pueblo Indian dwelling, and may be called “Pueblo- 
Mission.” Each has given rise to a distinct and pleasing 
style of architecture, the former finding its best expression 
in southern California, and the latter in northern New Mex- 
ico. Some of the most beautiful residences in California 
are “Moorish-Mission,” while in New Mexico and Arizona 
the “Pueblo-Mission” style is gaining in favour for both 
public and private buildings. Many excellent examples of 
the latter are to be found in Santa Fe. 

The Moors, it will be remembered, held sway for several 
centuries in Spain, and Spain’s finest architecture belongs 

103 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


to the Moorish period. The Moors, themselves, were not 
artisans: they furnished the means and the general idea, 
which was placed into concrete form by Spanish architects 
and builders. This style of architecture predominates over 
the Gothic and Renaissance in Spain. 

From Spain it was carried to Mexico where some of the 
features of Aztec architecture were grafted upon it, and 
with these modifications, together with others imposed by 
necessity, it was transplanted to the mission fields of Texas, 
Arizona, and California. However, notwithstanding these 
modifications, which in some cases were material, the Moor- 
ish feeling predominates in many of the mission churches, 
the finest of which could be set down in Algiers or Morocco 
without seeming alien or out of place. 

There is a good deal that is original in the architecture 
of these missions, but, as we have suggested, most of the 
original features were imposed by limitations of material, 
exemplifying the old adage that “necessity is the mother of 
invention.” Nevertheless, nearly all of these old structures 
are well balanced, with few architectural flaws or monstrosi- 
ties. The designers did their work well—remarkably well, 
in view of the handicaps—and the resulting creations are 
original in that they are different from any other style of 
building on this continent. But they do not exhibit any 
fundamental departure from styles of architecture that al- 
ready were in existence. 

The mission churches of New Mexico, while themselves 
not attractive, are the foundation of a form of architecture 
that is both attractive and original and that cannot be found 

104 





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MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


elsewhere in the world. It is a slightly modified form of 
the Indian pueblo, is entirely native to America, and is 
quite in harmony with the aspect of nature in the Southwest. 
The picture of the museum at Santa Fe is a very good ex- 
ample of this style of building. It is a replica of six of the 
New Mexico mission churches. 

Many of the churches in New Mexico and Texas are 
cruciform—that is, in the form of a Roman cross—but this 
feature is not usually apparent in the exterior because of 
various annexes built to the church proper. The nave 
represents the tree of the cross and the transepts the arms. 
The sacristy was joined to the main chapel, at the head of 
the cross, with the gospel and epistle chapels occupying the 
two arms. The entrance, over which was placed the choir 
loft, was at the foot of the cross. The first floor under one 
of the towers usually was the baptistry. 

The bell tower (or towers) present a great variety of 
forms. The front, or facade (Spanish, fachada) of the 
church often was elaborately decorated, but the rest of the 
walls were left blank, with few windows and sometimes 
with none. The chapels were lighted from above when, 
indeed, they received any natural illumination at all. 

While many of the churches were cruciform, a majority 
were simply rectangular, consisting of one long room to 
which the various annexes were built. The width of the 
room was limited by the length of the vigas (roof beams), 
which could not often be procured in lengths greater than 
thirty-five feet. The carved vigas are one feature of mis- 
sion architecture common to all the fields. Another fea- 

107 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


ture that is found throughout is the enormously thick walls 
—three to six feet. 

The plan of a mission church and grounds shown herein 
(Fig.6) on page 93, is intended only to give the reader a 
general idea of the usual features. ‘To do more would neces- 
sitate reproducing the plan of nearly every mission church 
in the Southwest, for no two were arranged according to a 
common plan. 

The essential features are the chapel, the baptistry, the sac- 
risty, the mortuary chapel (often a separate building), the 
bell-tower, and the convento or monastery. The latter, 
which usually is joined to the church, is known as the “‘dor- 
mitory wing.” Sometimes the wings extended to the right 
(as in the San Xavier), sometimes to the left (as in the Santa 
Barbara) and sometimes to the rear (as in the San José). 
In many cases, especially where there was danger of Indian 
attacks, the church and its associated buildings, including 
storerooms, shops, and schoolrooms, etc., were arranged in 
the form of a hollow square, incompleted gaps being filled 
by substantial stone walls. All of the buildings opened 
into the enclosed court, or patio, which was converted into 
a garden, if water was available. ‘The picture of the gar- 
den of the Santa Barbara will give the reader a good idea 
of what they looked like. Of the many beautiful mission 
gardens, nearly all have entirely disappeared, for they were 
the most perishable feature of the mission, especially where 
irrigation was required. | 

As arule, there were no more than two exits to the mission 
square, although one of the Texas missions had seven, and 

108 


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MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


the outside windows were hardly more than loopholes. 
Everything was planned with the possibility of Indian at- 
tacks in mind, wherein each mission could, if necessary, be 
converted into a fortress in which the entire population 
could find refuge. 

Nearly all of the missions in New Mexico, and a majority 
of those in California and Arizona, were built of adobe- 
brick, which was sometimes sun dried and sometimes burned 
in a kiln. Where protected from moisture by an outer 
coating of plaster, this material is nearly as enduring as 
stone, but where neglected, it quickly crumbles, especially 
in a damp climate. A few churches, including all of those 
forming the San Antonio group, were built of stone, and 
some were part stone and part adobe, the stone being used 
for the lower portions of the walls. 

Many of the mission churches in New Mexico still possess 
their original bells, some of which are more than three hun- 
dred years old. All the Texas missions except the Valero 
have one or more of their original chimes that were sent 
over by the King of Spain two centuries ago, and in the 
mission towers in California are several of the original 
chimes. ‘The San Xavier in Arizona has two of its original 
set, together with another bell that formerly belonged to the 
San Juan Bautista in California. The fine old bells that 
once hung in the Tumacacori have been lost. Citizens of 
the United States have “borrowed” mission bells whenever 
opportunity offered. 

The finest of the mission bells came from Spain, and 
of these there is hardly one that is not the subject of some 


III 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


quaint old-world legend. Some were cast in Peru and 
Mexico, and a few of those in California were made in New 
England. One California mission possesses a set of 
dummy bells carved from wood, and one in New Mexico 
was equipped with bells made from native copper. 

The interior decorations of the churches were mostly in 
the form of mural paintings and geometric designs—the 
latter inherited from the Moors, who abhorred imitations of 
nature. The most common geometric design was the Fran- 
ciscan frieze. The paintings always were of religious sub- 
jects—incidents from the life of Christ, pictures of the 
mission’s patron saint and various other saints—and hardly 
a church lacked a painting of the Holy Family. Each 
church also had the “Stations of the Cross” (fourteen in 
number, representing successive stages in the Passion of 
Christ) and various carved images and statues. 

The wall paintings were, in many instances, the rather 
crude work of loving but untrained hands. Some of this 
work was done by the Indians, who, in New Mexico, seized 
the opportunity to decorate the ceiling with some of their 
own strange pagan symbols. The pictures shown of sev- 
eral interiors will serve to give the reader some conception 
of the prevailing scheme of decoration. The two extremes 
are shown in the interiors of the Concepcién of Texas and 
the San Xavier of Arizona. 

In addition to the pictures painted directly upon the walls, 
many of the churches possessed oil paintings on canvas, 
some of which are by well-known Spanish masters. Cim- 
abue is represented in one obscure church in New Mexico, 


112 





MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


and several Murillos have been found in the churches of 
Mexico (together with a much larger number of “Murillos” 
which that artist never saw). 

Many of the more valuable paintings and other artistic 
relics of the New Mexico missions have been transferred to 
the St. Francis Cathedral and to the museum, in Santa Fe. 
In California, when the missions were abandoned, most of 
the portable paintings were removed, some of them being 
taken back to Spain. Others have been taken to other 
churches and museums, and a few have been appropriated 
by art-loving citizens. Consequently, such of the Cali- 
fornia missions as still are in existence are rather bare. 
The presidio church at Monterey has some interesting relics, 
and a few old pictures and statues remain at San Gabriel. 
At the Santa Clara college are some of the pictures and 
relics of the old mission of that name, while the Santa Bar- 
bara possesses a number of rare old books belonging to that 
and other missions. 

The New Mexico mission churches have been in use al- 
most continuously since the beginning of the 18th Century, 
and consequently, there has been little opportunity for the 
vandal to get in his work, and no occasion for removing the 
pictures except when a church was abandoned or threat- 
ened with collapse. In the St. Francis Cathedral at Santa 
Fe are several old paintings inherited from the old San 
Francisco church, among which are pictures of St. Francis, 
St. Joseph, St. Augustine, the Good Samaritan, Our Lady 
of Carmel, Ecce Homo (a copy), three or four pictures of 
the Virgin, the Resurrection, the Holy Family, the Assump- 

113 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


tion of the Virgin, etc. Among the images and statues in 
the St. Francis Cathedral is the statue of the Virgin Mary 
which, it is claimed, De Vargas carried with him during 
his reconquest of New Mexico in 1692-93. 

In the San Miguel Chapel at Santa Fe are Raphael’s St. 
Michael and Lucifer, a copy of da Vinci’s Ecce Homo, Our 
Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Francis of Assisi, Cimabue’s 

Annunciation, and several paintings of female saints. The 
~ ancient church of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Santa Fe also 
contains a choice collection of old paintings, among which 
the writer recollects several of the Virgin Mary, two of the 
Madonna and Child, the Holy Family, and a large picture 
of St. Francis. 

Among the other old churches in New Mexico, those in 
the Zia, Cochiti, Isleta, Laguna, and Picuris pueblos con- 
tain some noteworthy paintings. One picture of St. Rosa- 
lie, in the Isleta church is very beautiful and is clearly the 
work of some unknown master, while in the Acoma church 
is an old painting of St. Joseph that once came near causing 
war between the Acoma and Laguna pueblos. 

Our limited space prohibits further description of the 
many interesting pictures found in the New Mexico mis- 
sion churches, but most of them are very old, many are 
beautiful, and some are quite valuable. Were they assem- 
bled in some museum, as they doubtless will be some day, 
they would form a collection over which the lover of me- 
dizval art would linger for days. 

With the exception of the San José, the Texas missions 
have been despoiled of their art treasures. The San José 

114. 





MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


still has some of the paintings that were sent across the ocean 
by the King of Spain two centuries ago. The mural dec- 
orations in all the Texas missions have almost entirely dis- 
appeared, while Huisar’s masterpiece of sculptural design, 
forming the facade of the San José, has been damaged be- 
yond repair by the combined efforts of the elements and 
vandals. 

In Arizona, there remain only traces of the interior dec- 
orations of the Tumacacori, but these were laid on with 
such loving care that they have been mistaken for stencil 
work, and only the most careful inspection and measure- 
ment reveals the fact that they were done freehand. The 
mural decorations of the San Xavier are rather highly col- 
oured, but, nevertheless, are very interesting, and certainly 
are not without artistic merit. The story of practically the 
entire recorded life of Christ is told on the walls and ceil- 
ing of the San Xavier. Among the pictures are the Immac- 
ulate Conception, the Annunciation, the Madonna of the 
Rosary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jesus and the Shepherds, 
the Adoration of the Magi, the Flight into Egypt, Joseph 
and the Infant Jesus, the Holy Family, John the Baptist 
and Jesus, Simon and Jesus, the Last Supper, the Cruci- 
fixion, the Pentecost, and the Mother of Sorrows. 

Mention of the last-named picture reminds the writer that 
in one of the California missions is a picture of the Mother 
of Sorrows or Our Lady of Solitude (name applied to the 
mother of Christ after His crucifixion) that is remarkable 
for the fact that it depicts anything but sorrow. The face 
wears a beatific, or even a joyful, expression. 

Tee 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The mission paintings, as we may have suggested before, 
were for the purpose of teaching the Christian faith to the 
natives. The Indian could grasp it in no other way, for 
he could read very little and was no more able to grasp an 
abstract idea than is a child of five years. The various 
statues and images found in the missions were used for 
the same purpose, as were the Stations of the Cross, referred 
to in an earlier paragraph. The Indian could understand 
an image of Christ nailed to the cross, where a tedious 
verbal explanation would leave him confused as to what 
actually had happened, and certainly would leave him un- 
moved. It is said that sometimes the Indians grew very 
indignant over the cruelties visited upon the unoffending 
Man of Galilee. Their attitude reminds one of old Clovis, 
who, when the crucifixion of Christ was explained to him, — 
grew greatly enraged and exclaimed, “Had I been there 
with my trusty Franks, we would have avenged His in- 
juries!” It is related that when the Passion Play was being 
enacted at one of the Texas missions by Spanish actors, the 
play had to be discontinued because some of the Indian 
spectators were preparing to tomahawk Christ’s persecu- 
tors. 

Many of the mission churches had very beautiful altar 
and Communion services, brought from Spain, wrought 
from silver and gold produced in Mexico and Peru. Most 
of these have been stolen or removed. The Indians never 
stole the sacred church property (except when they de- 
stroyed it in New Mexico, in 1680). When the San Xavier 
was abandoned, in 1823, the fine solid-silver Communion 

116 





MISSION ART AND ARCHITECTURE 


service and other property was taken care of by the Indians 
and preserved intact until a priest was sent to the San Xavier 
from Santa Fe in 1859, to whom they delivered it. This 
service, however, together with other sacred vessels, rich 
vestments, massive silver candlesticks, etc., has since been 
stolen. Mr. Prent Duell remarks that, “It may be that these 
fine objects appear to better advantage on private buffets 
than on the sacred altars for which they were intended. We 
will let the possessors decide.” 


117 


Xx 
SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS 


N THE course of our story we have had occasion a few 

times to refer to the secularization of the missions, and 
it may be well here further to explain the meaning of this 
term. ) 

It was the intention of both the Church and the Govern- 
ment of Spain to liberate the mission Indians and to furnish 
them with the means of earning their own independent live- 
lihood as soon as they were sufficiently advanced to justify 
this step. The padres, therefore, considered that they held 
the mission lands and the accumulated products thereof only 
in trust for the Indians, just as a father, in a sense, holds his 
property in trust for his children. The analogy can be car- 
ried further, for when the Indians were “freed” they were 
liberated in the same sense that one’s son, on attaining his 
majority, is librated from parental control. 

The charge often has been made that the padres accumu- 
lated ail this wealth of land, livestock, and swelling gran- 
aries for their own personal: aggrandizement, but such 
accusation must appear absurd to one familiar with the laws 
governing the mendicant monastic orders. The Francis- 
cans were a mendicant order, and were not permitted to own 
property, real or personal. And some of these old padres 

118 





SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS 


were, by preference, in charge of missions that were 
poor. 

The freeing of the Indians from the authority of the 
padres, the removal of the missions from the control of the 
religious orders, and the withholding of state support there- 
from constitute what is meant by secularization. But in 
its effects it amounts to the destruction of the missions as 
such, with confiscation of the mission lands and other prop- 
erty. When the Indians were freed, these lands were taken 
from the padres and, usually, divided among the Indians 
and the white settlers; the latter, of course, getting the lion’s 
share. ‘This destroyed the mission as such and reduced it 
to the status of a parish church, and, state aid being with- 
drawn, even the church had to be abandoned in many in- 
stances. 

In a few cases, the lands were left to the missions, but it 
was made clear that they had no legal title thereto—as, in- 
deed, was the case—and could be ousted on short notice. 
But with the Indians dispersed and no one left to work the 
land, what use was it to the padres? 

There was a great divergence of opinion a century ago, 
as there is now, regarding the Indian’s capacity for self- 
support and self-government. The Spanish Government, 
like Cooper, had an idealized Indian in mind, such as never 
actually existed. The King and his council believed that 
ten years of mission life would transform these ‘‘noble sav- 
ages” into law-abiding, wealth-creating citizens. But the 
padres, who lived with the Indians and knew their filthiness, 
their indolence, and their childishness, realized the futility 

119 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


of trying to work the change in less than two or three gen- 
erations. And even they greatly underestimated the magni- 
tude of the task. 

The missions in Texas and in parts of Mexico were 
secularized in 1794. ‘Then, in 1813, the Spanish Govern- 
ment directed that all missions that had been in existence 
ten years be secularized. This decree was enforced in the 
Sonora-Arizona field, but no attention was paid to it in 
California and apparently not in New Mexico. 

A few years later came Mexico’s final and successful 
struggle for independence, during which, and for some 
time after, the missions declined. Spain’s orders of secu- 
larization in 1794 and 1813 were issued in the belief that 
the Indians of the mission fields were ready for liberty, and 
would not have been promulgated had the Government been 
in possession of the facts. But with the newly established 
Government of Mexico it was different. Some of the mis- 
sions were accused of having been loyal to Spain (which 
probably was true), and their accumulated wealth, partic- 
ularly in California, naturally aroused the cupidity of the 
Mexican Government. Consequently, in 1831, an order 
for the secularization of all the missions went forth. It 
was tried first at San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and San An- 
tonio, in California. But to the chagrin of the Mexican 
officials, nearly all the Indians preferred to remain under 
the control of the padres. One official, after a fine, spread- 
eagle talk to the Indians at one of the missions, wherein he 
waxed eloquent over the blessings of liberty that he was now 
conferring upon the enslaved natives, asked that all who 

120 





SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS 


desired this liberty pass over to his right hand. Every In- 
dian remained stolidly in his place: not one moved! 

This, said the Mexican officials, would never do. ‘Their 
government needed those rich mission lands. So two or 
three of the California missions were secularized willy-nilly 
in 1834, and half a dozen more the following year. The 
Indians were liberated and made to shift for themselves, 
regardless of their preference. Perhaps it would be more 
accurate to say that they were discharged. 

They behaved exactly as had been anticipated by the 
padres, and exactly as an immature child would behave if 
cut loose from the authority and guidance of his parents. 
They were defrauded out of their pitiable little parcels of 
land and other property by the “superior” race, and if per- 
chance they received any cash in exchange, they were in- 
duced to spend it for strong drink or gamble it away. Their 
condition to-day is worse than it was one or even two cen- 
turies ago. After secularization, the prosperous Indian 
communities became impoverished and dwindled away: the 
natives scattered and betook themselves after a while to the 
savagery of their ancestors. There was nothing else for 
them to do. 

New Mexico, however, was an exception to the rule. The 
Indians there were habituated to close community life, and 
they always had held their land in common. Consequently, 
secularization did not seriously affect them. They did not 
scatter, because the mission community—the Pueblo—was 
their home and had been their home for centuries. Their 
padre simply became their parish priest, and as such he 

I2I 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


remains with them to-day and conducts services in a church 
that was old when George Washington was born. 

The mistake in California was realized too late, and it is 
doubtful if it would have been corrected, had it been real- 
ized earlier. Inthe early 1840’s, a few of the missions were 
restored, under certain restrictions, to the padres, who made 
heroic efforts to rebuild the wrecked communities. But the 
process of disintegration had gone too far to be remedied 
without state aid and support. The missions were sold or 
abandoned, one by one, and when, in 1847, the United States 
took possession of California, the final curtain already had 
fallen on the scene of Spain’s last missionary effort in the 
New World. 


I22 





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XI 
CONCLUSION 


ANY volumes have been written on the subject of 
the old Spanish missions, and the old accounts and 
records prepared by Benavides, Kino, Garcés, Manzanet, 
Margil, Serra, and others have been pretty well thumbed. 
Yet much of the history of the missionary work in the South- 
west is not known with certainty. Many excellent records 
have been lost or destroyed. For example, the local records 
of the New Mexico missions were burned by the Indians in 
1680, and were it not for the “Memoria” prepared by Fr. 
Benavides in 1630, the earliest missionary work in the 
United States would be known only in legend. Very little 
is known of the work in the gap between 1630 and 1680, al- 
though enough has been learned to piece out the record. 
Similar gaps appear in the history of the Texas and Ari- 
zona mission fields. The founders of the early Texas 
missions were vague in their accounts. ‘Their records of 
conversions, baptisms, marriages, and deaths are painstak- 
ingly accurate, but they seemed to think that if they named 
the tribe in which a mission was founded, they were giving 
exact data as to that mission’s location. 
The writer has endeavoured to ascertain the facts and to 
state them impartially. Popular histories do not fail to 
123 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


dwell upon the dark side of Spanish rule in America, and 
certainly, as a whole, it is not a good example for any en- 
lightened nation to follow; but the splendid work of the 
Franciscan padres is either overlooked or deliberately ig- 
nored. Consequently, it may come as a surprise to many 
readers to learn that there is a bright and commendable side 
to Spanish operations in the New World. 

Once or twice, in the foregoing story, the writer has urged 
the restoration and preservation of the finer of the mission 
churches. If this is not done, we soon will no longer have 
these romantic old buildings with us. All of them—even 
those that have been “restored”—are gradually crumbling. 
The ceiling of the Tumacacori, with the arch of the facade, 
collapsed a few years ago; the grand old San José in Texas 
is on the verge of collapse, its beautiful multi-coloured dome 
having fallen in half a century ago; the arches of the incom- 
parable San Xavier are cracking. Most of the mission 
churches are very nearly beyond reclamation, and some of 
those remaining are perhaps not worth restoring. But the 
best of them should be preserved to pass on to future genera- 
tions as examples of what the old padres achieved under 
handicaps that would have been considered insurmountable 
by the Anglo-Saxon. Then, also, they are worth preserving 
from the architectural point of view alone. 

Of the California missions, the San Luis Rey, above all, 
should be sympathetically restored; not only the church, but 
the other buildings associated therewith. In Arizona, the 
San Xavier should be made a national monument instead of 
the ruined Tumacacori, and kept in perfect repair. Even 

124 





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CONCLUSION 


at the present day, it remains one of the most beautiful build- 
ings in America. 

The entire group of missions at San Antonio, Texas, 
should be restored in their entirety. Practically every fea- 
ture of Moorish-Mission architecture is exemplified in this 
group, and in addition they are easily accessible, which can- 
not be said of the missions in any other state. The site of 
these missions should be converted into a national park, and 
the buildings made national monuments. 

Had the old missions of the Southwest been built in New 
England, they would have been carefully cherished and 
preserved; uncounted volumes of romance would have been 
woven about them; their names would be household 
words. 

As it is, they are hardly known outside the states in which 
they are located. The writer did not know that such things 
as industrial missions ever existed until, in 1908, when “ex- 
ploring” San Francisco, he stumbled upon the old mission 
of San Francisco de Asis and asked about it. This “dis- 
covery” was followed by visits to most of the missions in 
California and to those in Arizona. ‘Then, in 1911, he 
explored the Texas mission field and harvested some very 
interesting legends from the Catholic Sisters who were in 
charge. Since 1915, he has seized every opportunity to 
visit the missions of New Mexico, which were found very 
interesting. 

One cannot visit these deserted old missions without being 
profoundly impressed by two things: the loving care be- 
stowed in their creation, and their present aspect of utter 

127 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


desolation. Dr. George Wharton James, in his splendid 
book, “In and Out of the Old Missions of California,” ex- 
presses this feeling so well that we cannot, in conclusion, 
refrain from quoting him. He is speaking of the San An- 
tonio de Padua, but his words are equally applicable to most 
of these forsaken missions: 


“Oh, the infinitude of care and patience and work and 
love shown in this old building! Everything was well and 
beautifully done; it is so evidently a work of love and pride. 
The builder was architect and lover; maker of history and 
poet, for power, strength, beauty, and tenderness are re- 
vealed on every hand. 

“And now, all is silent. Birds fly in and out, and sing 
in the towers that once sent forth sweet sounds of evening 
bell. Horses wander up and down the corridors where 
monks were wont to tell their beads, and even the monastery, 
consecrated by prayers, songs, and the holy toil of labour, 
and the rooms in which Indian maidens and youths learned 
the handicrafts of the white man, are now used as places of 
shade for the cattle that roam through the valley. 

“Inside the ruined church, all is still. There is no dron- 
ing voice of drowsy padre intoning his early morning Mass; 
no resounding note of the same padre’s voice when fired 
with martial ardour. 

“In the surrounding ruins where once was heard the ring 
of iron and hammer on anvil, the saw and plane on wood, 
the tap of the hammer on leather, and the busy hum of ac- 
tive workers of every kind, everything now is hushed and 

128 





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04 suaas aU0 ONT “*SapIsS Jsam PUY YINOS ayy UO Wt pasojrua Yyotym ‘ssuiping ays fo yIvq sum pLvkpANOI UOTSSIUL 
joursr10 ays 40f <OQLI Ut I9UIJSIXI UL SVM [JVM S1YJ JOY UIYI42I Jou st ft ShanamoFT “UoLss1u ayy fo K404S aM] 2414Ud aYf 
uapptYy aavy prnom yt sv “YyIJays ays Ut papnjout you st “ysty goof ua, Jjvm pavkpsnos ayy, ‘ssuimvsp puv suvjd pjo worl apou 
‘(ONVIV AHL) O9LI NI OUAIVA AA OINOLNV NVS GHL 4O HOLES ‘II ‘Old 








CONCLUSION 


still. The fields no longer see the Indian, the plough is 
idle, the rancherias are deserted. 

“Like a gray-haired mother of sons and daughters, whose 
life-work is accomplished, and who sits in her capacious 
armchair awaiting the last summons, so seems this old 
church to sit, calm and serene among the hills, silently voic- 
ing the questions: ‘Have I, too, not accomplishedP May 
I not also pass in peace?’ ” 


131 











APPENDIX A 
MISSION LEGENDS 


NEARLY every one of the old missions in the Southwest 
has its cluster of legends. ‘Those in Texas seem to be richest 
in legendary material, and in California it is said that there 
is a legend for every mile of the Camino Real (the road 
connecting the missions). Such of these stories as have 
come to the writer’s attention, however, are accounts of 
hairbreadth, and sometimes miraculous, escapes from savage 
beasts and savage men; of murders and ambuscades, such as 
attach to any frontier of civilization. Many of the mission 
legends are suspiciously modern, and in addition their plots 
are unpardonably hackneyed. Such evidently have been 
concocted in recent years, by novices in the art of plot- 
building, for the delectation of tourists. Still, the legends 
of undoubted antiquity would fill a volume, and the writer 
here presents only a few typical examples. 


THE LOST BELLS OF THE TUMACACORI 


The Tumacacori mission in Arizona possessed a chime of 
very fine bells, cast in Spain three centuries ago. When the 
Jesuits were expelled in 1767, the priests removed the bells 
from the tower and buried them, either in the mission plaza 
or far out on the desert, in order to prevent their falling into 
the hands of a rival order. It was their hope to return later 

135 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


and recover the bells, but this they were unable to do, and 
the hiding place of the bells was lost. Numerous attempts 
have since been made, even up to recent years, to recover 
this rare old chime, and if the energy that has been expended 
in digging for them had been devoted to the cultivation of 
the soil, the Tumacacori district would be a garden spot. 
At intervals, some old scrap of parchment, purporting to be 
a record of the burial place, turns up, but—the bells remain 
lost. A recent attempt, based upon an apparently reliable 
old document (probably someone’s practical joke) resulted 
- in the unearthing of an old iron bucket. 


THE LOST MINES OF THE TUMACACORI 


It is claimed that the Jesuits worked certain rich mines 
some miles from the mission, and that the treasure thus col- 
lected was stored in a cave to which a heavy door was fitted. 
The route to this precious cache was indicated by certain 
marks and natural monuments, known only to the Jesuit 
padres. When they were summarily expelled in 1767, they 
carried with them the secret of the location of this treasure, 
and all attempts to relocate the secret wealth have failed. 
One naturally would be inclined to brand the story of this 
cache of gold and silver as fiction were it not for the fact 
that a prospector, some years ago, become lost in the desert, 
and after wandering aimlessly for several days, reached hu- 
man habitations and there told of having found, on the side 
of a hill, a heavy, much-weathered oaken door, fastened with 
an ancient rusted padlock. This man had never heard of 
the treasure cave of the Tumacacori. He was unable, how- 

136 





APPENDIX A 


ever, to relocate the spot. His failure to do so will not 
seem strange to the reader who is familiar with the peculiar 
topography of the desert regions of the Southwest. 


THE UNFINISHED TOWER OF THE SAN XAVIER 


Architects are agreed that the absence of the dome from 
the righthand tower of the San Xavier mars an otherwise 
perfect piece of architecture. Most tourists assume that the 
dome collapsed after the mission was abandoned and was 
not rebuilt when the mission was restored. Others assume 
that it was left unfinished in imitation of the many incom- 
pleted cathedrals of Europe. 

This tower, in fact, never received its dome, and since no 
other mission in the entire Southwest was left similarly un- 
finished, the writer is inclined to believe the following 
legend: 

When one of the padres, who had laboured faithfully dur- 
ing the twelve years of the mission’s building, was preparing 
to lay the first stones of the dome, he lost his footing and fell 
through the unfinished interior of the tower to the ground. 
He was killed by the fall, and it was then and there decided 
to leave that tower unfinished as a monument to the unfor- 
tunate padre, so that everyone seeing it would be reminded 
of the sacrifice. 


HUISAR, THE SCULPTOR OF THE SAN JOSE 
The beautifully carved window and facade of the San 
José mission in Texas carry an interesting story of the artist 
137 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


who executed this work. We do not know how much truth 
there is in the story of his love affair, but otherwise the nar- 
rative is substantially correct. 

Huisar (also spelled Huicar), who was a descendant of 
the architect that designed the Alhambra, was apparently 
in poor circumstances, and came to the New World to 
carve his fortune, leaving his aristocratic fiancée in Spain 
until such time as he could return and claim her. Contrary 
to the rule in such cases, he very soon came into a consid- 
erable inheritance, and forthwith prepared to return to his 
- betrothed. But the very ship on which he intended to re- 
turn to Spain brought him the news that the girl had taken 
advantage of his absence and wedded another. Huisar, a 
very sensitive and a very proud man, was cut to the heart. 
He cursed all women collectively, and vowed to devote his 
life and talents to the church. Right at hand was his oppor- 
tunity, for the San José was building, and he undertook its 
decoration. He spent twenty years on this work, and it is 
said he attempted to express his sense of tragedy and despair 
in the wonderful carvings of its facade and baptistry win- 
dow. Hluisar aged rapidly during those twenty years, and 
changed from a buoyant, cheerful youth to a moody, silent 
old man. He died soon after finishing the work, and is 
buried in the shadow of this splendid monument. 

Huisar’s work, which marks him as an artist of high rank, 
has been studied by architects from all parts of the world. 
Had he lived, he doubtless would have ranked with the few 
great sculptors the world has known. Or, possibly—who 
knows?—he might have settled down as a contented citizen, 

138 


os a a 


APPENDIX A 


had he not been thwarted, and the world would never have 
heard of him. 


THE RISING OF THE COFFIN OF FRAY PADILLA 


Padilla was one of the Franciscan friars who accom- 
panied Coronado into New Mexico and who later was 
martyred by the Indians. When the Isleta mission church 
was built, the rude coffin containing Padilla’s remains was, 
according to the belief of the natives, in some miraculous 
manner conveyed from its resting place in the desert to Is- 
leta, and there reinterred in the holy ground of the mission 
cemetery. 

Once each year, it is said, this coffin works its way 
through the ground to the surface, where it and the corpse 
of Padilla are viewed by the people before being again 
buried. It is believed to be a potent worker of miracles 
while thus exposed to view, and a number of people in that 
vicinity have small fragments of Padilla’s graveclothes, 
which they believe to be valuable amulets. 

Many of the people of Isleta assert that they actually have 
seen the coffin and its contents, but the writer was unable to 
find one who had seen the coffin actually breaking through 
the ground. It is probable that the coffin is buried in a 
shallow grave, and that it is disinterred by no more super- 
natural agency than a pick and shovel. It is significant that 
it has no fixed date for appearing, and that it has to be re- 
interred by human labour. The Indians and Mexicans, 
however, fully believe that its appearance is miraculous. 

139 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


The myth persists in spite of the fact that the Franciscans 
discourage belief in it. 


NUESTRA SENORA DEL ROSARIO 
(Our Lady of the Rosary) 


De Vargas, during his reconquest of New Mexico, in 
1692 and 1693, carried with him a beautiful statue of the 
Virgin Mary, which he believed was instrumental in giving 
him his victories over the Indians, both in the fight and in 
the peaceful parley. Wherever he stopped, he built a little 
sanctuary for the sacred image. 

When, in his campaign, he reached Santa Fe, he there 
found the Indians in great numbers and strongly fortified. 
He attacked, and for a whole day the fight surged back and 
forth, and night fell upon a drawn battle, but one that was 
a victory for the Indians in that they had held their ground 
at all points. That night, De Vargas, in the presence of his 
entire army, registered a solemn vow before the holy statue 
that, if the Virgin Mary would aid him in the next day’s 
fight, he would build a beautiful sanctuary for her statue 
on the ground where he then stood, and that once each year 
the statue should be carried in state from its resting place 
in the principal church of Santa Fe to this sanctuary and 
there be left for nine days to receive the thanks and venera- 
tion of the people. 

The next day De Vargas struck the Indians with his whole 
force, and in a short time had them routed and fleeing. 
They made another desperate stand outside the city, but 

140 





Ee ae ee a ee 


APPENDIX A 


there De Vargas smote them again and scattered them far 
and wide. 

Faithful to his vow, he built the sanctuary—now known 
as the Rosario Chapel (chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary) 
—and each year since then, for more than two and a quar- 
ter centuries, this same statue has been carried in solemn 
state from the San Francisco Cathedral to the Rosario 
Chapel. In recent years, this religious procession has orad- 
ually developed into a splendid fiesta, which draws visitors 
from all parts of the country. In fact, there is danger that 
the original feature may eventually become lost through 
overelaboration, although at the present time the pictur- 
esque procession, in which the statue of the Virgin and its 
ceremonial guard occupy the post of honour, remains the 
most impressive feature of the fiesta. 


THE BELL OF SAN MIGUEL 


In the church of San Miguel in Santa Fe is a bell that, if 
the legend concerning it is true, is the oldest and most in- 
teresting bell in America. It weighs nearly eight hundred 
pounds, and was cast in 1356. Its history, which may be 
authentic, is as follows: 

In 1356, when the Spanish were fighting an apparentiy 
losing campaign against the Moors, a bell was vowed to 
St. Joseph if he would aid his people. Very commendably, 
the people performed their part of this contract first, and 
the metal for the bell was prepared. Into the molten 
mass the people cast their gold and silver plate and orna- 
ments, thereby increasing the volume of the metal to the 

I4I 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


extent that the bell had to be made three inches thick in order 
to use all the precious alloy. 

After the bell was cast, it was found to have a tone of sur- 
passing sweetness and purity, and with its first ringing the 
power of the Moors began to decline. It was rung out ex- 
ultantly with every defeat of the Moors, and when Spain 
finally was cleared of the infidel, this famous bell was 
brought to Mexico, where it remained many years. ‘Then, 
when the new mission field was opened up in New Mexico, 
the bell was carried up the Rio Grande to the city of the 
Holy Faith (Santa Fe) and there hung in the San Miguel 
chapel. It bears the inscription “San José, ruego por 
nosotros’ (St. Joseph, pray for us). The bell is perfectly 
intact, but it is not now in service. Dr. L. B. Prince de- 
clared that this is “the sweetest-toned bell and one of the 
richest” in America: a statement with which the writer fully 
agrees in so far as his experience goes. 


THE PICTURE OF ST. JOSEPH AT ACOMA 


In the mission church of the pueblo of Acoma is a cele- 
brated picture of St. Joseph which the Indians credit with 
remarkable powers. Whenever overtaken or threatened by 
misfortune, the people (Indians) prayed before this pic- 
ture, and always with the desired results. The pueblo, as 
a result, was prosperous, peaceful, and happy. 

But came a time when the neighbouring pueblo of 
Laguna suffered a long series of ills, and finally a delegation 
was sent to Acoma to beg the loan of this picture. In 
solemn conclave, the matter was gravely deliberated upon, 

142 





APPENDIX A 


and finally it was decided to draw lots and so leave it to the 
powers of heaven to decide whether the potent likeness of 
St. Joseph should be permitted to leave its home. Acoma 
won, but only temporarily, for the Laguna delegation stole 
the picture and made off with it. Thereupon, the Acoma 
pueblo prepared for war, but at this point the padres inter- 
fered and persuaded the enraged Acomians to let Laguna 
have the picture for a while. 

The possession of the painting now brought prosperity 
to the Laguna pueblo, while Acoma experienced a series of 
misfortunes. They importuned Laguna for the return of 
the picture, but Laguna refused to give it up, and kept a 
strong guard over it, day and night, for fifty years. Finally 
the Acoma pueblo appealed to the courts, and Laguna was 
compelled to restore the painting to its rightful owners, 
where it remains to-day. 

It may be remarked here that the litigation over this pic- 
ture bankrupted both the pueblos. 


LEGENDS OF MARIA CORONEL 


The remarkable story of Maria Coronel is told in Appen- 
dix C, page 157. Of the numerous legends of this woman 
that have been handed down from generation to generation 
for the past three centuries by the Indian tribes of the 
Southwest, nearly all are historical and probably are based 
upon actual occurrences. In most of these she is pictured 
as appearing, apparently, from nowhere in particular, and 
mysteriously disappearing. During these visits with the 
Indians, she taught them the Christian faith, baptized such 

143 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


as desired to embrace the new religion, cared for the sick, 
and won the love and reverence of all the natives with whom 
she came into contact. ‘These incidents of her visits, doubt- 
less magnified from generation to generation, form the gist 
of most of the legends concerning her. The various tribes 
that have traditions of Maria Coronel regard her as a bene- 
ficent supernatural being, but whether she was so regarded 
when she was visiting these tribes, we do not know. Of the 
purely mythical legends in which this woman is the central 
figure, we will recite a typical one: 

The Indians and halfbreeds of the vicinity of San An- 
tonio, Texas, tell us that somewhere far below the ground in 
that region is an enchanted city, built in a vast cavern. This 
fairy city is reached through some one of the subterranean 
passages that, in a ruined condition, are to be found in the 
vicinity of the San Antonio missions; but just which one 
of these tunnels leads to the enchanted city is not known 
and cannot be known. 

In this subterranean city lives the “Mysterious Woman in 
Blue,” or “Madre Maria,” and to one woman in each gen- 
eration she appears and on her bestows some priceless gift 
—usually in the form of some supernatural mental or spir- 
itual endowment. Only through the exercise of this gift 
can the specially favoured woman be known to others. ‘The 
ability to read the future or to read what is in the hearts of 
others are the two forms which this gift most frequently 
takes. But the gift always is a beneficent one, and is to be 
so employed by the one on whom it is bestowed. 


144 








APPENDIX A 


THE MORTAR OF THE CONCEPCION PURISIMA 


When the mission of Nuestra Sefiora de la Concepcion 
Purisima in Texas was begun, the padre in charge informed 
the Indians that in honour of the Virgin Mary, to whom it 
was dedicated, the mortar should be mixed with pure, fresh 
milk instead of with water. 

So each morning the Indian women brought sweet milk 
from their cows and goats, and each day only enough mortar 
was prepared for that day’s needs. This continued until 
the final stone of the church was laid. 

The mortar of the Concepcion is remarkably tenacious, 
but whether the milk used in mixing it is responsible for this 
condition we cannot say. In making repairs on this church 
some years ago, the mortar had to be cut: it could not be 
broken, and actually was harder than the stones it bound 
together. This explains why the Concepcion is the best 
preserved of the San Antonio group of mission churches. 


THE BELLS OF THE SAN JOSE 


The following legend is told of both the San José de 
Aguayo in Texas and the San Gabriel Arcangel in Cali- 
fornia. 

A young Spanish nobleman, Don Luis Angel de Leén, 
came adventuring to Texas, leaving his fiancée, Teresa, in 
Spain. He was slain in an Indian raid not far from the San 
José, and was buried in the cemetery of that church. 

In Spain, the bells for the San José were about ready to 
be cast, and among the crowd gathered to celebrate the oc- 

145 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


casion was the Sefiorita Teresa. At that moment, a courier 
arrived, bringing the news of the death of Don Luis. After 
exhibiting the customary grief, Teresa removed the golden 
ornaments that Don Luis had given her and cast them into 
the molten metal, so that these bells, designed to ring the 
Angelus over his grave, would carry to him a message from 
her. Other people who were present, much affected, fol- 
lowed her example and cast their gold and silver ornaments 
into the cauldron. This alloy of gold and silver gave to 
the bells a peculiar beauty of tone, which they have retained 
to this day. 

It is a fact that the bells of the San José have a very pleas- 
ing tone, but bell-makers throw a cold douche upon this 
story by informing us that gold and silver are very objec- 
tionable materials for bells. It may be remarked here, 
however, that, during the period of Spain’s religious fer- 
vour, it was a common occurrence for people to contribute 
their gold and silver jewellery and plate to the mission bells, 
as a form of sacrificial offering. 


LEGENDS OF THE SAN ANTONIO DE VALERO 


For many years after the massacre at the Alamo in 1836, 
it was shunned and feared as a tomb of horrors. Scores of 
stories were told of ghosts of its heroic defenders appearing 
within its gloom-haunted walls, and some of these stories 
even received serious attention from the press and from stu- 
dents of demonology and spiritism. It is said that when 
attempts were made by the Mexican military to dismantle 
the Alamo, they were driven away by apparitions carrying 

146 





APPENDIX A 


flaming swords, and it is a matter of historical record that 
of the several attempts made by the Spanish general, An- 
drade, to destroy the Alamo, all failed to accomplish their 
object, although there was no physical resistance offered. 
It also is said that everyone who since has endeavoured to 
secure the destruction of the Alamo has met with a tragic 
death, and in so far as the present writer has been able to 
verify this assertion, itis true. It is one of those rare coinci- 
dences that, like the violent deaths suffered by those who 
condemned Joan of Arc to death, has the appearance of 
being supernatural. 

The following poem by Grantland Rice, which is here 
reproduced by permission of the New York Tribune- 
Herald, was inspired by the tales already referred to: 


Ghosts of the Alamo 


There’s the tramp of a ghost on the low winds to-night, 
An echo that drifts like a dream on its way,— 
There’s the blur of the spectre that leaves for the fight, 
Grave-risen at last from a long-vanished day; 
There’s the shout and the call of grim soul unto soul 
As they rise one by one out of death’s shadowed glen 
To follow the bugle—the drum’s muffled roll, 
Where the Ghosts of the Alamo gather again. 


I hear Crockett’s voice as he leaps from the dust 
And waits at the call for an answering hail; 
And Bowie caresses a blade red with rust 
As deep in the shadows he turns to the trail; 
147 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Still lost in the darkness that covers their sleep 
Their bodies may rest in a sand-mounded den, 

But their spirits have come from the red, starry steep 
Where Ghosts of the Alamo gather again. 


You think they’ve forgotten—because they have slept— 
The day Santa Ana charged in with his slaves, 

Where five thousand men ’gainst a few hundred swept 
And stormed the last rampart that stood for their graves? 

You think they’ve forgotten, but faint, from afar, 
Brave Travis is calling the roll of his men 

And a voice answers “‘Here!” through the shadows that bar, 
Where Ghosts of the Alamo gather again. 


There’s a flash on a blade—and you'thought it a star? 
There a light on the plain—and you thought it the 
moon?Pp 
You thought the wind echoed that anthem of war, 
Not knowing the lilt of an old border tuner 
Gray shade after shade, stirred again unto breath, 
Gray phantom by phantom they charge down the glen 
Where souls hold a hate that is greater than death, 
Where Ghosts of the Alamo gather again. 


148 





APPENDIX B 
THE MASSACRE AT THE ALAMO 


THE story of the battle and massacre of the Alamo really 
belongs to the civil history of Texas, but it is associated with 
mission history, and usually is included in the history of 
the San Antonio missions: in addition, few people outside 
of Texas (and not a great many within that state) know the 
true account of this famous battle. For these reasons the 
writer may be pardoned for introducing it here. 

The buildings known as the Alamo comprised the old 
mission of San Antonio de Valero. The church of this mis- 
sion has been pictured throughout the United States as the 
“Alamo,” but in fact it was but a small part of the whole, 
as will be observed from our sketch of the Valero as it was 
in 1836. The church at that time was in ruins, full of the 
débris of the collapsed towers, dome, and ceiling. Little 
fighting took place in the church: some writers deny that 
there was any at all. The real battle and massacre took 
place in the cloistered building known as the “long bar- 
racks.” 

While the mission of San Antonio de Valero was built 
primarily as an industrial training school for the Indians, 
it served as a fortress on several occasions, and the flags of 
‘six nations—Spain, France, Mexico, Texas, the Confeder- 

149 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


ate States of America, and the United States of America— 
have flown over its southwest tower. In 1805, it was occu- 
pied by a Spanish garrison, who gave it its present name of 
the “Alamo” from the poplar trees (Spanish, alamos) that 
grew in its vicinity. 

In 1813, the garrison then occupying the Alamo was cap- 
tured by a little army of revolutionists in which were many 
native-born citizens of the United States—adventurous spir- 
its that had strayed far from their homeland. The Alamo 
changed hands several times in the ensuing ten years of 
Mexico’s struggles for independence from Spain. 

When Texas rebelled against the dictatorship of Santa 
Ana (whose real name was Antonio Lopez, and who was 
born at Santa Ana, Salvador), a small force of Texans under 
Colonels Fannin and Bowie, in October, 1835, defeated a 
much larger Mexican army at mission Concepcion, and 
toward the end of that year Colonel Milam—“Old Ben 
Milam”—with three companies of soldiers captured the 
Mexican garrison under General Cos at the historic Bexar 
presidio, near the Alamo. In the battle, Milam was killed 
and Colonel Neil succeeded to the command. The Alamo 
at that time was not garrisoned. 

Santa Ana, when he heard of the defeat and capture of 
Cos, immediately began preparations for reconquering San 
Antonio. Colonel Neil realized his danger, and sent to 
General Houston, then in eastern Texas, for reinforcements. 
Houston sent a few men under Colonel Bowie, while Croc- 
kett and Colonel Travis each arrived with a squad; but even 
with these, the garrison did not number more than one hun- 

150 





APPENDIX B 


dred and fifty men, Fannin having gone to Goliad with 300 
of the soldiers. 

At this point, Neil, chagrined over Houston’s apparent 
indifference to his peril, took a furlough and Travis assumed 
command. 

There were about twenty pieces of artillery available, 
part of it being at the Bexar presidio and the rest at the 
Alamo. Travis had it all transferred to the Alamo, and 
there he prepared to meet the oncoming Mexican hordes. 
Lieutenant Jameson, who, it seems, was an artillery en- 
gineer, superintended the fortifying of the Alamo and its 
plaza. He mounted three guns upon the ruined roof of the 
church, four at the plaza gate, seven on elevated platforms 
inside the plaza walls, and six in the main building (the 
long barracks). At least, that was his original plan, but it 
is possible the final arrangement was not entirely according 
to this plan. The Mexicans reported that four of the guns 
inside the plaza were fired through ports cut into the 
wall. 

On February 23, 1836, the advance guard of the Mexican 
army, numbering about a thousand men, arrived and im- 
mediately began the investment and bombardment of the 
Alamo. ‘Travis on that day sent an appeal to Houston for 
help and called upon Fannin at Goliad to bring up his men. 
But Houston had gone on a vacation, leaving no one in 
command, while Fannin’s 300 men were without food or 
transportation and were unable to move. 

The investment of the Alamo was not complete, and 
Travis, realizing the futility of expecting reinforcements 

I6T 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


from Houston, decided to give his men their choice of escap- 
ing or remaining with him. Drawing a line on the ground 
with his sword, he asked all who desired to remain to form 
on that line. All except one man stepped to the mark. 
Even Bowie, who was ill of pneumonia, had his cot carried 
to the line. 

The following day Travis sent a final appeal to the people 
of Texas—a most manly and noble call, and one of the most 
inspiring documents on the pages of history. ‘Thirty-two 
young men and boys from Gonzales responded, got through 
the Mexican lines, and entered the Alamo. On March 3d, 
Bonham, whom Travis had sent out to seek help, returned 
alone. He had failed to secure assistance, but himself came 
back, spurred his horse through the Mexican lines, and re- 
entered the fort to die with his friend, Colonel Travis. Bon- 
ham was a South Carolinian, and a gentleman of culture 
and exceptional intellectual endowment. 

By this time the besieging army had increased to more 
than 5,000 men (Ridpath and other historians erroneously 
place the number at 8,000), against 182 in the Alamo. The 
bombardment had continued since February 23d, and had 
met with a determined and spirited response from the guns 
of the Alamo. None of the Texans had as yet been killed, 
but they were in a starving condition, and were becoming 
exhausted from the strain. 

On March 5th, Santa Ana learned from a native cook 
escaped from the Alamo that the garrison was a mere hand- 
ful of men, worn out from the twelve days’ siege, and so he 
decided to take the place by assault. He spent that day and 

162 





APPENDIX B 


most of the following night arranging his forces and issuing 
instructions, while the Texans received the first rest they 
had been able to secure since the attack began. 

At three o’clock the next morning, the Mexicans ad- 
vanced in three assaulting columns and struck the south, 
west, and north sides of the plaza simultaneously. ‘Three 
successive assaults were driven back by the grim patriots. 
But a fourth time the enemy came forward, driven by their 
own cavalry with drawn sabres, and this time they succeeded 
in swarming over the wall on the north and west sides, leav- 
ing piles of their men dead at each place. 

Overwhelmed by the masses of their enemy, the Texans 
fell back into the long barracks, which proved their death 
trap. This building was divided into a number of rooms 
without direct communication with each other, and the lit- 
tle garrison was thus split up into isolated squads without 
commanding officers. Travis had been killed defending 
the west plaza wall, Bowie was sick and dying, Crockett 
alone was left of the three leaders. 

The Mexicans trained the captured guns in the plaza 
upon this building, and after battering in the barricades that 
had been erected in the cloisters, closed in upon the broken 
remnants of the garrison, and the uproar and confusion be- 
came indescribable. In the darkness, the frenzied Mexi- 
cans struck right and left and killed many of their fellows. 
The patriots sold their lives as dearly as possible, and the 
enemy were piled in horrible heaps before the barracks. 
Even in the hospital (the second floor of the southwest 
tower) the invalids gave a good account of themselves, and 

153 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


it is said that of four Mexicans who rushed in to dispatch 
the dying Bowie, only one returned. 

The final scene of the tragedy was enacted in the baptistry 
of the church, where that portion of the garrison detailed 
to defend the church had taken refuge. Two of these men 
were killed while trying to fire the powder magazine, which 
was just across the nave from the baptistry. 

After all resistance had ceased, the piles of dead were 
searched for wounded Texans, who, when found, were stood 
up against the wall and shot. Then the brave Santa Ana, 
who had kept carefully out of range as long as a patriot re- 
mained alive, came forward and proved his valour by slash- 
ing and hacking the dead bodies of his enemies with his 
sword. Others followed his example. 


“Now let the victor feast at will until his crest be red; 
We may not know what rapture fills the vulture with the 
dead: 
Let Santa Ana’s valiant sword right bravely hew and hack 


The senseless corse; its hands are cold; it will not strike 
him_ back.” 


Among those who emulated Santa Ana’s example was the 
General Cos who had surrendered to Neil three months be- 
fore, and who was paroled on his honour never again to take 
up arms against the Republic of Texas. In justice, it must 
also be said that some of Santa Ana’s officers were horrified 
at this violation of the dead: these same officers had pro- 
tested against the orders of “no quarter” that Santa Ana had 
issued before beginning the assault. 

154 





APPENDIX B 


Santa Ana had the bodies of the patriots piled in three 
heaps and burned, while his own dead were interred with 
military honours. The charred bones and ashes afterward 
were gathered together by a Texas officer, given a military 
funeral, and buried in a peach orchard near the Alamo. 
And so well does Texas cherish the memory of her defenders 
that the site of this burial place is no longer known: the city 
has grown up over it. 

There were several women and children in a north room 
of the church. Among these was the wife of Lieutenant 
Jameson. We are indebted to Lieutenant Jameson for the 
only existing drawing of the Alamo and its fortifications, 
and to Mrs. Jameson for our most reliable information re- 
garding the battle. 

To these women the doomed soldiers gave their watches, 
jewellery, and other valuables to be returned to their rela- 
tives, but the Mexican soldiery confiscated everything, even 
the sacred farewell letters written by these men to their loved 
ones back in the “States.” 

It may be added here that Fannin, soon after, surrendered 
his starving men to an overwhelming Mexican force which, 
after disarming the men, marched them out upon the plain 
and massacred them in approved Mexican style. 

Some of the men under Travis and Fannin were deserters 
from the army under General Gaines which President Jack- 
son had stationed near the border for the purpose of “keep- 
ing the Texas Indians out of Louisiana.” This, it seems, was 
only a pretext: the Texas Indians were minding their own 
business and molesting nobody. But it is known that both 

155 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


President Jackson and General Gaines were in sympathy 
with the Texans, and it is said this army was stationed near 
the scene of action in order that such soldiers as so desired 
could desert and join the Texas forces. Certainly, a good 
many of them did desert for that purpose, and certainly no 
effort was made to hinder their desertion or to retake them 
afterward. ‘This is one instance in history where no oppro- 
brium attaches to the name “deserter.” 

~ Men from at least eight of the twenty-two states of our 
Union fought and died at the Alamo. Some of them were 
from the far-away states of Pennsylvania, New York, and 
Massachusetts. One of Travis’s officers, Captain Forsyth, 
was a New York man. Nearly all the garrison were native- 
born citizens of the United States, and a list of their names 
contains only six that are not Anglo-Saxon, with only one 
that is Spanish. For this reason, if for no other, the Alamo 
should be made a national monument, for it belongs to the 
nation, and is enshrined in the nation’s heart along with 
Bunker Hill and the village green at Lexington. It, also, 
is a monument to the Anglo-Saxon’s love of freedom. 





APPEND UEASC 


MARIA CORONEL DE AGREDA 


Frew people in the United States know the story of Maria 
Coronel; not many have even heard of her; yet as a mystery 
she ranks with the Man in the Iron Mask, Saint-Germain 
the Deathless, or Melmoth the Wanderer. 

Maria Coronel was not a fictitious character. She was 
born at Agreda, Castile, in 1602 and died there in 1665. She 
was of aristocratic lineage, affluent, cultured, of remark- 
able physical beauty and rare intellectual and spiritual 
endowments, the head of an order devoted to the uplift and 
education of the poor, and the author of several noteworthy 
books. One of her books, “The Mystic City of God,” was 
recently the battleground of a spirited wordy warfare. 

The inexplicable case of Maria Coronel has been made 
the subject of many treatises and learned discussions, and 
at more or less regular intervals the controversy about her 
blazes up anew. Each writer, however, has attempted to 
explain the case either from the point of view of the ration- 
alist or that of the supernaturalist, and has, unconsciously, 
perhaps, laid undue emphasis upon such evidence as sup- 
‘ported his view and minimized or ignored the contrary evi- 
dence. It is the present writer’s purpose here to state the 
facts, together with the valid arguments pro and con, and 
let the reader form his own conclusion. 

157 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Maria Coronel was intensely interested in the missionary 
work then being carried on in the New World, and cer- 
tainly this devotion coloured her entire life. She claimed 
to have made many visits to the Indians of Texas, New 
Mexico, and northern Mexico. She kept carefully prepared 
records of these visits, the last of which was made in 1631, 
at the age of twenty-nine, and her descriptions of the In- 
dians, their habits, garb, habitations, and even the native 
names of the tribes, were later found to be quite accurate. 
It is possible that she might have obtained some of this in- 
formation second-hand, but this could not have been the 
case with regard to the Texas Indians, for no white man 
entered their territory until nearly thirty years after Maria’s 
death. And these were the tribes that Maria described with 
the greatest fidelity. 

Maria claimed to have converted and baptized many 
Indians—a claim later verified by the Indians themselves— 
and promised them missionaries and teachers: a promise that 
throughout her life she strove to bring to fulfilment. 

When, in 1690, Fr. Manzanet and his brother friars en- 
tered eastern Texas, and, to win the good will of the natives, 
distributed cloth and other gifts among them, a village chief 
asked Manzanet for some blue cloth in which to bury his 
grandmother when she died. Manzanet was curious to 
know the reason for this unusual request, whereupon the 
chief informed him that, when his grandmother was a girl, 
a beautiful young woman of the white race, dressed in blue, 
had visited his tribe and had baptized his grandmother, and 
that he desired her to be like this woman in the next world. 

158 





APPENDIX C 


It may be stated here that Maria Coronel’s favourite 
colour was blue, and she customarily wore clothing of that 
colour. 

The padres of the little San Augustin mission, some dis- 
tance northwest of San Antonio, recorded, some time after 
the year 1668, that a delegation of Indians from “beyond the 
Pecos River” visited their mission and requested that the 
missionaries and teachers promised them many years before 
by a beautiful young woman dressed in blue be sent them. 
These Indians proved to the padres that they already had 
been instructed somewhat in the Christian faith. 

Fr. Alonzo Benavides, who was Custodian of the New 
Mexico mission field from 1622 to 1630, in his “Memoria” 
(prepared in 1630) speaks of the visits of Maria Coronel 
to the Indians of New Mexico during his term as Custodian, 
but if he or any of his fellow friars ever actually saw her, he 
does not record the fact. There were about fifty padres 
scattered over this field at the time. 

Saint-Denis, the French adventurer, during his trading 
visits among the Nacogdoches Indians between 1710 and 
1714, heard legends of Maria Coronel, which he mentions 
in his letters. 

Finally, Fr. Junipero Serro, writing in about the year 
1775, makes vague reference to the visits of Maria Coronel 
to the Indians of California. 

So much for the recorded evidence now in existence. 

There are legends of this strange woman scattered among 
the Indians all the way from Texas to the Pacific. Robert 
Sturmberg, in his “History of Early Days in Texas,” says 

159 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


that “From the swamps of western Louisiana and eastern 
Texas, throughout Texas, Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, 
and California, her memory lives and will live for ever in 
the folklore and traditions of these people whose Indian 
ancestors were blessed with the visits of this saintly woman.” 
These numerous legends are in agreement in that they de- 
clare the mystic visitor to have been of the white race, young, 
beautiful, and dressed in blue; that she taught the gospel of 
Jesus Christ and proclaimed herself, so to speak, the herald 
of teachers and missionaries who would come later, and that 
she was held in great love and veneration by men, women, 
and children. 

Now, the astonishing fact is that there is practically con- 
clusive evidence that Maria Coronel never once set foot out 
of Spain! 

There are her own statements, but in 1631 she made writ- 
ten confession that her visits to the Indians were made only 
in trances. The rationalists insist that this alleged confes- 
sion is a forgery, and it is a fact that, to date, the original 
copy has not come to light. But it is significant that, after 
the year 1631, Maria made no more “visits” to the New 
World. 

It is pointed out by supernaturalists that, in Maria Cor- 
onel’s day, no person, however obscure, could leave Spain 
without the knowledge and consent of the authorities. This 
is true. It also is true that the Spanish port officials would 
not have permitted any woman to embark upon any such 
perilous enterprise, nor would they have permitted any 


woman to take ship for the New World alone. And such 


160 


. 
‘ 
: 





APPENDIX C 


was Maria’s position in the social, literary, religious, and 
educational world, that she could not have taken “French 
leave” without a nation-wide search being made for her, 
while the fact of her absence would have been recorded on 
a score of registers. In 1619, she became a member of a 
religious order, and in 1626 she became the head of this 
order, which, under her direction, became famous through- 
out the Catholic world. She was avery busy young woman, 
with many demands made upon her time. 

In her time, the only means of reaching the Texas In- 
dians from Spain was to take ship to Vera Cruz and proceed 
from there overland. The entire trip, from Spain and back, 
could not have consumed less than six months. She could 
not have been absent from the institution of which she was 
the head without the fact having been recorded. 

And certainly, had she secured the permission of the royal 
authorities to embark for America, the daring novelty of 
the undertaking would have made it an event of nation- 
wide importance; it would have attracted as much notice 
and discussion as the voyage of Columbus. 

Mr. Sturmberg, previously quoted, informs us that “Vol- 
umes have been written about this woman, and quite a con- 
troversy is being carried on to-day (1921) about her visits 
to the Indian tribes. Till date, the matter has neither been 
settled officially nor explained satisfactorily. Catholic his- 
torians, generally, seem to prefer the view that her case ap- 
pears to be ‘an established case of clairvoyant trance.’” 
Mr. Sturmberg, however, maintains that Maria actually 


visited the Indians in person. 
161 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Miss Adina de Zavala, in her “Old Missions In and 
Around San Antonio,” explains the matter thus: “Mary de 
Agreda had never really been in Texas or the New World in 
person, but during her state of intense longing and contin- 
ued prayer, she must have dreamed all or visited them [the 
Indians] in ecstasy—but so vivid were the dreams—if 
dreams they were—and so many times were they repeated 
and the same country and people held in vision before her 
mind day after day and month after month, that they became 
as real to her as those among whom she actually lived. 
She conversed with these dream people and promised them 
teachers. . . . Stranger yet is the fact that the people 
of these tribes saw her, loved and remembered her, and that 
she seemed real to them.” 

The reader’s attention is invited to the fact that the legends 
regarding this woman were of too recent birth, when first 
they were related to and recorded by white men, to have 
become very much modified or to have spread very far. 
There was little or no intercourse between different tribes 
except where they were very closely related. Yet, within two 
generations of Maria’s death, stories were told of her visits 
by tribes a thousand miles apart. They had been handed 
down but one generation when Manzanet heard them in 
eastern Texas. Benavides heard of her directly from the 
Indians who had seen her. But, while it is claimed by at 
least one writer that she visited several missions, we can find 
no record whatever of her ever having been seen by any 
white person on this side the Atlantic. 

Unquestionably, some woman of the Spanish race, pre- 

162 





APPENDIX C 


sumably young and probably beautiful, garbed in blue and 
travelling alone, did visit widely separated Indian tribes 
during the years in which Maria Coronel claimed to have 
made her visits. This is about the only fact on which all 
investigators agree. 

But who and what was she? 

Three theories regarding her have been advanced: (1) 
that Maria Coronel actually made the visits in person, (2) 
that this mystic visitor was an astral or disembodied Maria, 
and (3) that it was some other woman impersonating Maria 
and in correspondence with her. 

No. 1 is opposed by such conclusive evidence that, were 
it not for Maria’s accurate delineation of the natives, no 
one would concede that she could have possibly visited them. 
No. 2 is contrary to well-known physical laws, and therefore 
cannot be established by circumstantial evidence; absolute 
proof is required, and such proof is lacking. No. 3, while 
the most tenable of the three, implies falsehood and dupli- 
city upon the part of Maria, of which she was incapable. 

Whoever this woman was, why did she so sedulously avoid 
contact with those of her own race in the New World? 
Maria herself was a sociable enough person when in Spain. 
According to the Indian legends, this woman travelled with- 
out escort or attendants, and carried no provisions, water, 
or impedimenta of any kind. How, without food and 
water, did she traverse the great uninhabited desert regions 
of the Southwest, as she must have done to reach certain In- 
dian tribes that she visited? The tribes of eastern Texas, 
which Maria described with great fidelity, were then 600 

163 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


miles from the nearest Spanish settlement, and were 1,100 
miles, overland, from the nearest port touched by Spanish 
ships, with half a dozen unfordable rivers between. 

At least three distinct languages were spoken by the In- 
dian tribes visited by this woman. According to the In- 
dians, she conversed with them, although, except possibly 
in northern New Mexico, they could not have known a word 
of Spanish. 

Probably, as one writer has remarked, the matter would 
appear commonplace enough if only all the facts were 
known. As it is, it certainly piques one’s interest. 


164 





APPENDIX D 
ONATE’S PROCLAMATION 


THE following, which is a literal translation of Ofiate’s proc- 
lamation taking possession of New Mexico, is a fair illustra- 
tion of the curious mixture of political and religious motive 
that actuated the Spanish conqutstadores of that time: 


“In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, and the undivided 
Eternal Unity, Deity and Majesty, Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit, three persons in one sole essence, and one and only 
true God, that, by His Eternal Will, Almighty Power and 
Infinite Wisdom, directs, governs and disposes potently and 
sweetly from sea to sea, from end to end, as beginning and 
end of all things, and in whose hands the Eternal Pon- 
tificate and Priesthood, the Empires and Kingdoms, Prin- 
cipalities, Dynasties, Republics; elder and minor, families 
and persons, as in the Eternal Priest, Emperor and King of 
Emperors and Kings, Lord of Lords, Creator of the heavens 
and the earth, elements, birds and fishes, animals and plants, 
and all creatures corporal and spiritual, rational and irra- 
tional, from the most supreme cherubim to the most despised 
ant and tiny butterfly; and to His honour and glory and 
of His most sacred and blessed mother, the Holy Virgin 
Mary, our Lady, Gate of Heaven, Ark of the Covenant, 
in whom the manna of Heaven, the rod of Divine justice, 

165 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


and arm of God and His law of grace and love was placed, 
as Mother of God, Sun, Moon and North Star, Guide and 
Advocate of humanity; and in honour of the Seraphic 
Father, San Francisco, image of Christ, God in body and 
soul, His Royal Ensign, patriarch of the poor, whom I adopt 
as my patrons and advocates, guides, defenders and inter- 
cessors. 

“TI wish that those that are now, or at any time may be, 
know that I, Don Juan de Ofiate, governor and captain gen- 
eral, and Adelantado of New Mexico and of its kingdoms 
and provinces, as well as those in their vicinity and contigu- 
ous thereto, as settler, discoverer and pacifier of them and of 
the said kingdoms, by the order of the King, Our Lord. I 
find myself to-day with my full and entire camp near the river 
which they call Del Norte, and on the bank which 1s con- 
ticuous to the first towns of New Mexico, and whereas I 
wish to take possession of the land to-day, the day of the 
Ascension of our Lord, April 30th, of the present year 1598; 
through the medium of the person of Don Juan Pérez de 


Donis, clerk of his Majesty, and secretary of this expedi- 


tion, by authority and in the name of the most Christian 
king, Philip the Second, and for his successors (may they 
be many) and for the crown of Castile, and kings that from 
his glorious descent may reign therein, and for my said 
government, relying and resting in the sole and absolute 
power and jurisdiction of the Eternal High Priest and 
King, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, universal Head 
of the Church, because they are His, and He is their legiti- 
mate and universal Pastor, for which purpose, having as- 
166 





APPENDIX D 


cended to his Eternal Father, in His corporal being, He left 
as His Vicar and substitute, the Prince of Apostles, Saint 
Peter, and his successors legitimately elected, to whom He 
gave and left the Kingdom, power and Empire. ; 

“And I, Juan Pérez de Donis, clerk of his Majesty and 
post secretary, do certify that the said lord Governor, Cap- 
tain General and Adelantado of the said Kingdoms, as a 
sign of true and peaceful possession, placed and nailed with 
his own hands on a certain tree, which was prepared for 
the purpose, the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
turning to it, with his knees on the ground, said, ‘Holy 
Cross, Divine Gate of Heaven, Altar of the only and essen- 
tial Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Son of God, 
Way of the Saints, and possession of their glory; open the 
gates of heaven to these infidels; found the Church and 
Altars where the Body and Blood of the Son of God may 
be offered; open to us a way of safety and peace for their 
conversion and our conversion, and give to our King, and 
to me, in his Royal name, peaceful possession of these King- 
doms and Provinces for his holy glory. Amen.” 


167 


APPENDIX E 
How To REACH THE MISSIONS 


THESE historic monuments are visited by many tourists 
each year, and would be visited by many more if the tourists 
knew in advance where they are located and how to get 
there. Literally thousands of automobile travellers pass 
through San Antonio each year without knowing that close 
at hand are several of the most remarkable buildings in the 
United States; and the same can be said of Santa Fe, New 
Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona. 

The tourist desiring to visit the Texas missions need only 
go to San Antonio. There he will find the Valero (the 
Alamo), the San Fernando Cathedral, the remnants of the 
old Bexar Presidio, and an interesting old watchtower used 
by the early Spaniards for guarding against surprise at- 
tacks by Indians. The other four missions are below San 
Antonio, the farthest being only nine miles, and are con- 
nected by a good road. The proximity of these missions 
makes this an admirable one-day hiking trip for those who 
are athletically inclined. On Sunday afternoon, a sight- 
seeing automobile makes the round trip. This tourist car 
is in charge of a capable guide who calls the visitors’ atten- 
tion to a number of interesting features that otherwise 

168 





APPENDIX E 


would be missed in a hurried trip. The artist, as well as 
the man who loves to moralize over the monuments of the 
past, will take more time. These will make San Antonio 
their base, and will study the missions at their leisure. 

In New Mexico, the old mission churches are scattered 
over a large area, and some of them are almost inaccessible 
to automobiles. A short side trip from the Atlantic and 
Pacific Highway at Gallup will bring one to the interesting 
Zufi pueblo, which certainly is worth the time and trouble; 
and another détour from the same highway at McCarthy 
will take one to the still more interesting Acoma pueblo 
where stands the old church that was used as a model for 
the New Mexico building at the Panama Exposition. On 
eastward across the Grande River, still on the same high- 
way, short trips from Mountainair will take the traveller 
to the majestic ruins of the Cuarai and Tabira missions. 

On the road between El Paso and Santa Fe may be found 
the town of Old Albuquerque, and the Isleta, San Felipe, 
and Santo Domingo pueblos. The mission church at the 
latter pueblo is no longer in existence. 

North of Santa Fe are thirteen pueblos containing old 
mission churches, but only the Pojuaque, Santa Cruz, San 
Juan, Tesque, Rancha de Taos, and Taos are on or near the 
road leading northward from Santa Fe. 

The pueblos are as interesting as the churches, and he 
who desires to visit this field would do well to go first to 
Santa Fe. There he will find three very old and interesting 
churches, the old Palace of the Governors (which has 
housed more than a hundred governors, beginning with 

169 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Onate in 1606 and ending with Curry in 1909), and many 
other relics of the Spanish days. Then Santa Fe is nearly 
in the centre of the mission field, and full information as 
to the best way to reach any and all missions in that district 
can easily be obtained there. 

A nine-mile trip southward from Tucson, Arizona, will 
bring one to the fine old San Xavier. The Catholic Sisters 
having charge of this mission charge a trifling fee for show- 
ing the visitor through, but the visit is worth many times the 
cost. Proceeding on southward to within ten miles of 
Nogales, Arizona, takes the tourist to the ruins of the once 
splendid Tumacacori. The Tumacacori is a national mon- 
ument, which means nothing more than that neither the 
State of Arizona nor the Catholic Church is permitted to 
restore or preserve it. Nine miles east of Nogales are the 
remnants of the old Guevavi. There is no road to the 
Guevavi and, besides, its glory has long since departed. 

In California, the missions are strung out along or near 
the coastal district from San Francisco to San Diego. On 
or very close to the well-built highway connecting these two 
cities are the Santa Clara, the Santa Cruz site, the ruins of 
the Soledad, the San Miguel, the San Luis Obispo, the Santa 
Barbara, the Buenaventura and the Capistrano. A détour 
from Monterey brings one to the famous San Carlos (or 
Carmel) mission; the San Juan can be reached from Wat- 
sonville, the San Fernando from Los Angeles, and the San 
Diego from San Diego. In the city of San Francisco is 
the old San Francisco Mission church, and across the bay 
to the north is the Solano. 

170 


ee a ee 


APPENDIX E 


The California missions were intentionally placed about 
one day’s travel (on foot) apart, but it is a long day’s travel 
in some cases. Yet a pedestrian tour of the entire chain is 
feasible to him who has plenty of time at his disposal. 


171 


APPENDIX F 
FRANCIS OF ASSISI 


INASMUCH as the missionary work in our Southwest was 
almost entirely in the hands of the Franciscans, and alto- 
gether in their charge after the year 1767, a short biogra- 
phical sketch of the founder of the Order of Franciscan 
Monks may not be out of place. This order the writer be- 
lieves to have been the most tolerant and humanitarian of 
all that have engaged in missionary work in the New World: 
it is in a flourishing condition to-day, and many a scientific 
man of repute places “O. F. M.” (Order of Friars Minor) 
after his name. | 

The family name of St. Francis was Francesco Bernadone 
(Ber nah’do nay). He was born in 1182, at Assisi, in Um- 
bria, Italy. One account has it that he was born ina stable, 
but, as a matter of fact, he was of patrician birth, and his 
family was in affluent circumstances. 

Francis’s youth and early manhood were wasted in the 
frivolity and freedom from moral restraint that character- 
ized the young men of his day. He was one of the “idle 
rich,” and, in a gay and reckless set, he was the gayest and 
one of the most reckless. 

At that time, the Church and the army offered the only 
honourable careers open to young men of noble birth, and 
Francis chose the profession of the sword. 

Lie 





APPENDIX F 


While still a young man, he was taken prisoner in one 
of the petty wars that from time to time distracted the Italian 
states, and during his captivity he was seized with what 
proved to bea prolonged illness. It is said that, during this 
illness, his future career was revealed to him ina vision. It 
seems that a sermon he heard while in a chastened mood 
also had a profound influence upon him. . 

At any rate, his habits and his attitude toward life under- 
went a complete transformation. He renounced the world, 
gave all his possessions, including his clothing, to the poor, 
and, clad in a coarse woollen tunic, went about preaching 
and ministering to the poor and unfortunate. 

His father strenuously opposed this, and when Francis 
ignored the paternal admonitions, the elder Bernadone 
strove to have his son declared of unsound mind. But it 
seems that in those days one had to be more or less mentally 
unbalanced in order to be adjudged insane—and Francis 
retained his freedom. 

However, he was disinherited by his father and disowned 
by his family, and he retired to a monastery near Assisi 
where he began the organization of the great monastic 
order that bears his name. He established for his followers 
the threefold vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They 
were to go barefoot except when shoes were an imperative 
necessity; they were forbidden to ride except when through 
infirmity or injury they were unable to walk. They were 
forvidden to receive any money or to own any property, 
but they could accept, in exchange for labour or other 
service, the necessities of life. 

173 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Francis claimed brotherhood with all living things—that 
not only man, but all animate things were imbued with the 
spirit of their Creator. He asserted the dignity of labour 
and service. He wrote, “Let not the Friars appear gloomy 
or sad, like hypocrites, but let them be glad and happy, show- 
ing that they rejoice in the service of the Lord, and let them 
be becomingly courteous.” Again, “Should there be a 
brother anywhere in the world who has sinned, no matter 
how great so ever his fault may be, let him not depart after 
he has once seen thy face, without showing pity toward him; 
and if he does not ask for mercy, ask him if he does not de- 
sire it.” Also, “Whoever may come to us, be he friend or 
foe, let him be kindly and hospitably received.” 

The Order of St. Francis received the official recognition 
and approval of the Pope in 1209—one year after its foun- 
dation—and it thereafter won recruits by the thousands. 
Among Francis’s disciples were several world-renowned 
personages, such as Cardinal Giovanni di Fidanza (St. 
Buenaventura), St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Clara of 
Assisi. 

In 1219, Francis joined the Sixth Crusade, and boldly en- 
tered the Moslem camp, where he preached the gospel of 
Jesus Christ to the infidel. The Sultan issued orders that 
Francis should not be harmed or molested in any manner: 
quite a commentary upon the relative degrees of tolerance 
practised by the Moslems and the Christians of that day. 

Francis returned to Europe in poor health, but he con- 
tinued preaching and working among the poor until his 
death in 1226. He was canonized in 1228. 

174 





APPENDIX G 
PRONUNCIATION AND MEANING OF SPANISH NAMES, ETC. 


SPANISH pronunciation is comparatively easy. Of the 
vowels, a has the “Italian” sound, as in “ah”; e has the sound 
of long a, as in “ate”; z and y are sounded like long e as in 
“me”: o is given its long sound, as in “go”; w has the sound 
of “oo” as in “moon.” Every vowel letter is sounded indi- 
vidually: there are no diphthongs, and no vowel ever is 
silent. The consonants are sounded as in English, with 
the following exceptions: b is sounded almost like v (these 
two letters often are used interchangeably; for example, 
“Baca” and Vaca” are the same); c, before e or 7 is sounded 
like the aspirate th; g, j, and x are sounded like a guttural h 
(in America, more like the English /), // has the sound of 
lly; % is sounded like ny; r is given a rolling sound that is 
difficult for the English tongue to compass. 

The pure Castilian Spanish, however, is not spoken in 
the southwestern part of the United States, and the writer 
has elected to give the pronunciation of Spanish names as 
one hears them. 

The missions were dedicated to and named after various 
saints, archangels, holy relics, etc. The terms “san” (mas- 
culine) and “santa” (feminine) are usually interpreted 
“saint,” but they really mean “holy” or “sanctified.” We 

175 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


often used the word “saint” as a noun, but in Spanish it al- 

ways is an adjective. The term “santo” means the same as 

“san,” but it usually was applied to an image or statue 

rather than to an individual. 

Concepcion Imaculata (Con-saip’-thee-own Im-mac-cu-lah’- 
ta) : the Immaculate Conception. 

Concepcion Purisima (Poo-ree’see-ma): the Purest (or 
Most Pure) Conception. Synonymous with Immacu- 
late Conception. 

La Trinidad (La Tree nee-dahd) : the Trinity (referring to 
the Holy Trinity). 

Espiritu Santo de Zuniga (Es-pir-ree’'too Sahn’to day Zoo- 
nyee ga): the Holy Spirit of Zufiga; Zufiiga here being 
the identifying name of the mission. 

Los Angeles de Guevavi (Gway-vah’vee): the Angels of 
Guevavi. 

Nuestra Senora (Noo-ais'‘tra Sayn-yo’ra): Our Lady (the 
Mother of Christ). 

De la Asuncion (Ah-soon'thee-on) : of the Assumption. 

de los Dolores (Do-lo’rays) : of Sorrows (literally, “of 
the Sorrows’’). 

de Guadalupe (Gwah-dah-loo’pay): of Guadalupe. 

de Loreto (Lo-ray’to): of Loretto. 

de Luz (Looz): of Light. 

de Nacogdoches (Na-coag-do’shays) : of Nacogdoches 
(Nacogdoches, Indian tribe). 

de la Soledad (So'lee-dahd) : of Desolation (applied to 
the mother of Christ after His crucifixion). 

del Pilar (dail Pee’lar): of the Pillar. 

176 





APPENDIX G 


del Rosario (Ro-zah’ree-o): of the Rosary (more ac- 
curately, “of the Chaplet’). 

Reina de los Angeles (Rayee’nah): Queen of the Angels 
(applied to the Virgin Mary). 

Santa Ana: St Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. 

San Antonio (Ahn-to’nee-o) : St. Anthony, a disciple of St. 
Francis and a descendant of Godfrey of Bouillon. His 
vision, in which Christ as an infant appeared to him and 
permitted Antonio to embrace him, has been made the 
subject of one of the world’s famous paintings. 

de Padua (Pa-doo’ah) : of Padua, Italy (St. Anthony’s 
birthplace). 

de Valero (Vah-lay’ro): of Valero (the appellation 
“Valero” was added in honour of the Marquis de 
Valero, one of the Viceroys of Mexico). 

San Augustin (Aoo’goos-teen) : St. Augustine, the founder 
of the Order of Augustinian Monks, to which Order Mar- 
tin Luther belonged. 

San Buenaventura (Bwain’a-vain-too’ra) : Saint of the Good 
Adventure. This was a nickname applied by St. Francis 
to his disciple, Giovanni de Fidanza, who succeeded St. 
Francis as the head of the Franciscan Order of Monks. 

San Carlos Borromeo: St. Charles Borromeo, Borromeo 
being the family name. 

San Cayetano (Cah-yay-tah’no) : St. Cayetano. — 

San Cosme del Tucson (Cos’may dail Too’sone) : St. Cosme 
of the Tucson. 

San Diego: St. James of Alcala; a Franciscan monk of the 
15th Century. 

| 177 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


San Estevan (Ais’‘tay-vahn) : St. Stephen. Also, in Spanish, 
Stefano. 
San Felipe (Fay-lee’pay): St. Philip (Philip II of Spain). 
San Fernando Rey de Espagna (ray’ee day Ais-pahn’ya): 
St. Ferdinand, King of Spain (Ferdinand V of Castile). 
San Francisco (Frahn-see’sko) : St. Francis, founder of the 
Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), 
de Asis: of Assisi, Italy; the birthplace of St. Francis. 
de la Espada: of the Sword; St. Francis having been a 
Crusader. 
| de los Tejas (Tay’has) : of the Tejas (or Texas) Indians. 
San Francisco Solano: St. Francis Solano, a noted mission- 
ary who worked among the Indians of Peru. 
San Gabriel Arcangel (Gah’bree-ail): St. Gabriel, the 
Angel of the Annunciation. 
San Geronimo de Taos (Jay-ro’n ee-mo day Tah’ose): St. 
Jerome (of the Taos Indians). 
San José (Ho-say’) : St. Joseph, the foster father of Christ. 
de Aguayo (Ah-gwah’yo): of Aguayo, in honour of 
the Marquis of Aguayo, who financed the building of 
the mission. 
de los Nazones (Nah-zo’nays) : of the Nazones Indians, 
de Tumacacori (Too’mah-cah’-co-ree) : of the Tumaca- 
cori Indians (?). 
San Juan (Hwan): St. John. (Usually St. John the Evan- 
gelist is meant.) | 
Bautista (Bah’oo-tees’ta) : the Baptist. 
de los Caballeros (Ca-ball yair’os) : of the Gentlemen. 
San Juan Capistrano: St. John Capistran, who preached to 
178 


; is . 
eee, ee ee a ee 


APPENDIX G 


the Crusaders. At one time he himself led an army 
against the Moslems of southeastern Europe. 

San Lorenzo: St. Lawrence. 

de Picuries (Pee-cur’ee-ais) : of the Picuris Indians. 
San Luis (Loo’ees) : St. Louis. 
Obispo de Tolosa: Bishop of Toulouse. 
de Bocoancos (Bo-co-ahn’cos) : of Bocoancos. 
Rey de Francia (Frahn-thee'ah): King of France 
(Louis IX). 

San Miguel Arcangel (Mee-gway'l): St. Michael the Arch- 
angel; the leader of the heavenly hosts in the overthrow 
of Lucifer. 

San Pedro y San Pablo: St. Peter and St. Paul. 

San Rafael Arcangel (Rah-fah‘ail) : St. Raphael the Arch- 
angel; the chief guardian angel. 

San Serafin (Say’rah-feen) : Holy Seraphim. 

San Stefano: St. Stephen. 

San Xavier del Bac (Ha’'vee-ayr): also spelled Javier. St. 
Xavier of the Bac; Bac being an Indian word meaning 
water, spring, or marshy ground. 

Santa Bérbara (Sahn‘ta Bar’bar-ra) : St. Barabara. St. Bar- 
bara was a young Greek, living in Asia Minor, who was 
beheaded by her father for her adherence to the Christian 
faith. She is the patron saint of sailors. 

Santa Catarina (Cah-tah-ree’na): St. Catharine. 

Santa Clara: St. Clara of Assisi, Italy; a convert OfsoL 
Francis and the founder of the Order of Poor Clares. 

Santa Cruz: the Holy Cross. 

Santa Fe (Fay): the Holy Faith. 

179 






SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


Santa Inés (Ee nays’): St. Agnes. St. Agnes was martyred — 
at Rome, at the age of thirteen, for her adherence to the 
Christian faith. | i 

Santo Domingo (or San Domingo) : St. Dominick, the foun- 

der of the Order of Dominicans. 


180 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


oe 





BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bancrort, H. H. 
The W orks of Hubert Howe Bancroft (Vols. IX-X XIV). 
A. L. Bancroft and Company, San Francisco, Calif. 
BENAVIDES, ALONZO DE. 
The Memorial of Fray Alonzo de Benavides. ‘Trans- 
lated by Mrs. E. E. Ayer. Privately printed. 
Botton, H. E. 
Father Kino’s Lost History: Its Discovery and Value. 
Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Vol. 
VI. 
Spanish Explorations in the Southwest. Chas. Scrib- 
ner’s Sons, New York, N. Y. 
CoroNER, WILLIAM. 
San Antonio de Bexar. Comprehensive, but now out of 
print. A few old sets remain on the market. 
DUELL, PRENT. 
Mission Architecture. Arizona Archeological and His- 
torical Society, Tucson, Ariz. 
ENGELHARDT, FR. ZEPHYRIN. 
Missions and Missionaries in California. 
The Franciscans in Arizona. 
The Franciscans in New Mexico. Holy Child Indian 
School, Harbor Springs, Mich. 
183 


SPANISH MISSIONS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST 


HINTON, R. J. 
Handbook to Arizona. Payot, Upham and Company, 
New York, N. Y. 

JAMES, G. W. 
In and Out of the Old Missions of California. Little, 
Brown and Company, New York, N. Y. 

Moses, BERNARD. 
The Establishment of Spanish Rule in America. Uni- 
versity of California, Berkeley, Calif. 

PRINCE, L. BRADFORD. 
Spanish Missions of New Mexico. The Torch Press, 
Cedar Rapids, Ia. 

TWITCHELL, R. E. 
Leading Facts of New Mexican History (Vol. 1). The 
Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Ia. 

STURMBERG, ROBERT 
Eistory of San Antonio and of the Early Days in Texas. 
Standard Printing Company, San Antonio, Tex. 

ZAVALA, ADINADE 
The Alamo and Other Missions In and Around San_An.- 
tonio. Privately printed. 


4 
| 





PLATES 


In the following pictures, the general view of each mis- 
sion is numbered to correspond to the number assigned that 
mission on the maps and in the historical notes in Chapters 
III, IV, V, and VI. Other views of the same missions are 
lettered a, b, c, etc., in addition to the number. 





NEW "MEX LG@o 





STREET IN THE ACOMA PUEBLO 


it has been for nearly three centuries. It 1s typical of the Indian pueblos of the Mission 
period 





I, RUINS OF THE MISSION OF SAN GERONIMO 
at Taos—the first mission built in the Taos pueblo 


Wy 





On 


Neb WV ME XT CoO 





THE PRESENT MISSION OF SAN GERONIMO 
at Taos 





MISSION CHURCH AT RANCHAS DE TAOS 


“4 


a\ 





Ny Wie Mi Ee Xa Co) 





3. RUINS OF THE MISSION CHURCH OF SAN LORENZO 
at Picuris 





4. THE CHURCH AT LAS TRAMPAS 


Cy 


W 





NEE OW Mi Eexil C© 





5. CHURCH OF SAN JUAN DE LOS CABALLEROS 
at San Fuan. San fuan formerly was the Indian pueblo of Yunque 








6. THE SANTUARIO AT CHIMAYO 
(not a mission) 





NEW MEXICO 





7. INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT SANTA CRUZ 
showing typical altar and reredos (altar-screen) of the early mission days 


\ 





NMSEW (M EoOorC Oo 





8. MISSION OF SANTA CLARA DE ASIS 
at Santa Clara 





I4. CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO 
in the Tesuque pueblo, as it was sixty years ago. From a painting by Carlos Vierra 


mai 


He 





NEW eM XY DCO 





Ig. RUINS OF THE MISSION AT PECOS 
From a sketch made in 1846 by Col. W. H. Emory, U.S. A. 





16. CHURCH OF NUESTRA SENORA DE GUADALUPE 
at Santa Fe 


- 





%. 


NEW MEXICO 








I16-A. OLD SAN MIGUEL CHAPEL AT SANTA FE 
The tower has been rebuilt since this picture was made 





Nin WwW MEX TOO 





16-B. THE HISTORICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM 
at Santa Fe: a replica of six of the old mission churches 





I7. MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 
in the Cochiti pueblo. Said to be the oldest existing church within the United States 





INES Wiese aXe @ 





18. RUINS OF THE OLD MISSION OF SAN DIEGO 
at ‘femez. Once one of the finest churches in the State 





Ig. MISSION OF NUESTRA SENORA DE LA ASUNCION 
at Zia 


1s 





NEW ME XC o 


Wee % 5 


i 





21. SAN FELIPE MISSION 
at San Felipe 





N EAW —Mene x CO 





24. SAN FELIPE CHURCH IN OLD ALBUQUERQUE 
before restoration 








NESW) ME x1 CO 


% 


4 





ik tae of 
GPT 7 


TASTE 
Vals 


Sa 





24-A. SAN FELIPE CHURCH IN OLD ALBUQUERQUE 
after restoration 


A 





: 
= oy 
By 
na} 





NEESW, Mike x GO 





25. MISSION OF SAN AUGUSTIN 
in the Isleta pueblo 


>: 
a x 


ve 


Ly 


< Es 
a? 





27. MISSION OF SAN ESTEVAN 


in the Acoma pueblo. The New Mexico building at the Panama Exposition was modelled 
after this church 





NEW MEXICO 





27-A. THE ACOMA MESA 
showing the church and (at the right) a portion of the pueblo 





27-B. PROCESSIONAL DANCE IN THE ANNUAL FIESTA OF ST. STEPHEN 
at Acoma 





NOE WM Bex CO 





27-C. BELLS OF THE ACOMA MISSION : 
installed about 1630. (Pueblo Indian bell-ringer.) 





NEW ME XT CO 





Leas ORR 





27-D. INTERIOR OF THE ACOMA CHAPEL 


The reredos, which is one of the very oldest in the United States, is an example of Indian 
workmanship 


Tine DOC” ae ae ee ere Ne 
Pe ee Nl) ; ; . een 









bela Me 
Wt 


ae 
¢- i a ak “e 
Ka nr Dee rien ta 
7 ¢ =; q oy ; 
- . } 
ti 4 = + > iy . 
J ’ 
’ v4 ‘ ee 
‘ 
J ’ 
* ae 
* : Hy 
- bd 3 
o ae ie z 
J ‘ey, Ca 
} “ft 
| ne ~ oe 
Ct aa ioe 
- wh 
= fe te 
: 
, 
‘ 
t 
i 
. 





NOE Wee Bex TG) 





MISSION CHURCH AT LAGUNA 


28. 





REMAINS OF THE MISSION CHURCH AT CUARAT 


29. 


NEW, MeE xX EC O 


VUIAINO 


NVUD YO SVUIGVL LY HOWNHO 


— 





NOISSIN YHL AO 








e 





ARIZONA 





INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST 


in full tribal regalia. The type of habitation here shown was common to the tribes of 
California and Arizona 





AN INDIAN HUT IN ARIZONA 


This type of habitation was gradually supplanted, in the mission field, by the type of jacal 
(cabin) shown in picture 3e, which was introduced by the Spaniards 


“ 





ARIZONA 





I. ALL THAT REMAINS OF THE LOS ANGELES DE GUEVAVI 





2. THE SAN JOSE DE TUMACACORI 
before the ceiling collapsed 





AKIZONA 





2A ee Lak SeUMACACORIG AS. li 1S) TODAY 





2-B. -THE TUMACACORI, VIEWED FROM THE REAR 
showing the arched roof of the baptistry 


THE MISSION OF SAN XAVIER DEL BAC 
viewed from the east 


3-A. THE SAN XAVIER 
as it 1s to-day. View from the south 


ARIZONA 











ARIZONA 





MAIN ALTAR (LEFT CENTRE ) AND EPISTLE CHAPEL (AT RIGHT) 


oe. 


Ler 


of the San Xav 





Ler 


MAIN ALTAR (RIGHT CENTRE) AND GOSPEL CHAPEL (AT LEFT) 
of the San Xav 


Rec. 





| 


ARIZONA 





4’ Courtesy of the Putnam Studios, Los Angeles, Calif. 


3-D. THE “GROTTO SHRINE”? NEAR THE SAN XAVIER 
The tablet on the west pillar reads, “ Erected by the Bishop of Tucson A. D. 1908. The s5oth 


Anniversary of the Wondrous Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God at the Grotto of 
Lourdes.” The statue of the Virgin Mary is an exceptionally beautiful bit of statuary 





3-E. THE SAN XAVIER AS LEFT BY THE FRANCISCANS IN 1823 
The right-hand tower was never finished 





ARIZONA 





3-G. MORTUARY CHAPEL OF THE SAN XAVIER 
and a portion of the patio wall (recently rebuilt) 





- 
* 
i 
 e- 
> i 
‘ 
+ 
a 
vi 
. 





AREZONA 





ora. FACADE OF THE SAN XAVIER 


The general design of the San Xavier is Moorish, but the facade is classic and alien to the re- 
mainder of the structure. The scallop shell over the middle balcony window is the symbol o 
the Order of Franciscans 





ARIZONA 


ag 





Copyright C. C, Pierce & Co. 
3-I. DETAIL OF THE MAIN ALTAR OF THE SAN XAVIER 
showing the conventional stone lions of Castile 





ARIZONA 





3-j« DETAIL OF THE EPISTLE CHAPEL. OF THE SAN) XAVIER 


At the extreme right is the elevated, canopied pulpit, reached by a steep flight of steps. This 
style of pulpit was common to nearly all the mission churches 





AD ei iZ CIN A 





3-K. CONFESSIONAL CHAIR OF THE SAN XAVIER 
An example of Indian craftsmanship. 





ARIZONA 





qouinor bumpy nuozp £0 fisezimog 


surpmas mou ysiqqns fo dvay v jng Su1yjoNy 
NosonL 14d asol NVvS 4dHL 





i 


‘080 stvak Kp40f 
is 


























AIDS DS 





14. THE SAN ANTONIO DE VALERO (THE ALAMO) 


viewed from under an arch of the ruined cloisters. The Valero originally had twin towers, 
similar to those of the Concepcion 








T4=A. PRONT ORS LAE VALE RO 


The final fight in the Massacre of the Alamo occurred in the baptistry, which 
1s the lower room nearest the observer 





d I4-B. THE VALERO FROM THE SOUTH 
as it was in IQII 





. 
Naa 
Mee 
Ss Ee. 
7 - 
: A 
' 2 





tow ore oe Te 





I4-C. OLD WATCHTOWER NEAR THE VALERO 
used in mission days as an outpost for defense against Indian attacks 





I. THE MISSION OF SAN JOSE DE AGUAYO 
in 1925 





. ; Copyright by Ernst Raba 
14-A. THE SAN JOSE DE AGUAYO 


as it was in 1SO4 





I$-B. SIDE VIEW OF THE SAN JOSE 
(from the south) 





TEXAS 





IS-C. CLOISTER ARCHES OF THE SAN JOSE 
from the east door of the baptistry. The view includes a portion of the old mission garden 





IS-D. CLOISTER ARCHES OF THE SAN JOSE 


looking east. The San fFosé and the Valero were the only missions in the entire Southwest having 
two-story cloisters 


a 





TEXAS 


(9 


Sr 04 agisoddo) 4sam 8ury0o] 
asof NVS HHL ‘a-S1 








maa 


SN i teat 





I5-F. FAGADE OF THE SAN JOSE 


This once beautiful carving was executed by the Spanish sculptor, Huisar. It has been studied 
by artists and architects from all parts of the world 


5 





TEXAS 





CLOSER VIEW OF THE FACADE OF THE SAN JOSE 











Is-H. THE BAPTISTRY WINDOW OF THE SAN JOSE 
Another example of Huisar’s work. It has been considerably damaged 








15-1. EAST DOOR OF THE BAPTISTRY OF THE .SAN JOSE 
Showing the style of heavy carved door used in all the mission fields 





I5-J. GRANARY OF THE SAN JOSE 
showing remnants of the wall buttresses 








IEE xs 





Z 
E 


THE RUINED CHAPEL OF THE SAN JOS 


102K: 





TEXAS 





16. THE MISSION OF NUESTRA SENORA DE LA CONCEPCION PURISIMA DE ACUNA 
Usually known as the Concepcion 





16-A. THE CONCEPCION 
viewed from the north 


Pl 





doe Xx ASS 





16-B. THE CONCEPCION 
Jrom the south, showing a portion of what once was the mission patio 








16-c. INTERIOR OF THE CONCEPCION 


showing the main altar. The absence of mural decoration is in marked contrast to the over- 
decorated San Xavier in Arizona. The priest in the foreground wears the brown habit and 
white knotted cord of the Order of Franciscans 








16-D. CLOISTER ARCHES OF THE CONCEPCION 
The piers are about seven feet deep. At the extreme right 1s a glimpse of the mission garden 





16-E. THE BAPTISMAL FONT OF THE CONCEPCION 
At the back is the original font (built into the wall) carved by the Padres 





eR eALS 


RY 7 
) ae xe ie , 


i 
; 





17. MISSION OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 
as it appears to-day 








phe X Ac 





JUAN 


EES AWN 


jifty years ago 





b] 


dens 


@ MISSION Zar 


h 


iver to t 


R 


10 


ds, etc. 


REMAINS OF OLD AQUEDUCT 
orchar 


used to carry water from the San Anton 


. 
’ 


near the San ‘fuan 





= ae 
* 
; 
A 





Lake 5 





18. MISSION OF SAN FRANCISCO DE LA ESPADA 
The old mission well, in the foreground, is still in service 





Lo-Ay BALUARTE, OR FORTIFIED TOWER 


at a corner of the patio wall of the Espada. The Espada originally had eight of these baluartes 
built into its walls 





TEXAS 





Copyright by Harvey Patterson 


FACADE OF THE ESPADA 


18-B. 


ae 








(ee 





CHAPEL OF THE ESPADA 


The skylight 1s a 


a 

» 

8 

S 

ne 

~ 

ze 

S 

SS 

%® 

® 

a SS 
S 

Since 

NS 

V8 
a 

ats 

os 

cas 

See 
% 

it} 

S§ 

> 

S&S 

S 

9 

wN! 


Thirteen of the fourteen “ Stat 





TEXAS 





Copyright by E. Raba 
THE OLD SAN FERNANDO CATHEDRAL 


in San Antonio, as it was in 1868. Built in 1737 





THE PRESENT SAN FERNANDO CATHEDRAL 
the old cathedral forming its rear portion 





CALIFORNIA 





Copyright by C. C. Pierce & Co., Los Angeles, Calif. 
BRUSH CHURCH, CROSS AND BELLS 


at Santa Isabel. This extemporized structure will give a good idea of what a newly founded 
mission was like. The “church” appears small beside the enormous cross, but in fact, isa 
good-sized room 





I. REMAINS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 
the last mission ever built in America 





CALIFORNIA 








3. THE CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO DE Asis 
in the city of San Francisco. The facade is almost unique in mission architecture 


CALEY ORNTA 





a8afj07 $ uUailom v Sv pasn mou puv “payjapoulas KJanisuagna 
SISV Jd VUVIO VINVS JO NOISSIN GHL °f 


— 





CALTLFORNTA 





6. THE SANTA CRUZ MISSION IN 1840 
from a painting 





7. MISSION OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 





Con vat OER IN EEA 


PN a 





8. RUINS OF THE MISSION OF NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD 
From a painting 

















g. CHURCH OF SAN CARLOS BORROMEO 
or Carmel (See also Frontispiece.) | Frs. Serra and Lasuen are buried in this church 





CHEE ORN TA 


dhanennnnaetannannnenan natin 


ci 





g-A. PRESIDIO CHAPEL AT MONTEREY 
a Visita of the San Carlos 





IO, RUINS OF THE SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 
twenty-five years ago. The original bells were then in place 





CA LL OR NLA 


aie ee 





I0-A, CHURCH OF THE SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 
as it is to-day 





II. MISSION OF SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL 





CALIFORNIA 





II-A. INTERIOR OF THE SAN MIGUEL 
The carved vigas (roof-beams) and the Franciscan frieze were common to all the chapels of this 


type 





12. THE SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA 
suffering from a case of strictly modern “restoration” 





CALLE OR NTA 





is RUINS OF THE MISSION OF LA CONCEPCION PURISIMA 


ieansamssereeenen 








CALLEORNTA 





I4-A. CLOSER VIEW OF PART OF THE SANTA INES 





I4-B. THE SANTA INES 
showing bell tower (with the original bells) and the wall buttresses 


CAE T FORINT A 





16. MISSION OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 


11 spit. 





16-A. INTERIOR OF THE BUENAVENTURA 
The ceiling is a modern innovation 





CA LiL OR NLA 





ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN OF THE BUENAVENTURA 


16-2; 





CrAS AIS OURS N TA 


oe 
aan 
% 





15. MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA 
as it was in 1924 





I6-A. THE SANTA BARBARA 
viewed from the rear 








Cra Ie O. RN EA. 


: va 
vet bithiy 
<ERE ER RET EHER EG % 





I5-B. UNDER LHF  CLOISTER ARCHES. OF THE SANTA BARBARA 





Courtesy of Harold Taylor, Coronado, Calif. 


Is-C. GARDEN OF THE SANTA BARBARA 
This is one of the very few mission gardens that has been preserved 





CALIFORNIA 





I’7. REMAINS OF THE SAN FERNANDO DE ESPAGNA 





I7-A. ARCHES OF THE SAN FERNANDO 
These arches are among the few in the mission fields built with pedestals 








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CALIFORNIA 





18. THE SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 





THE MISSION OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 
showing the old mission garden 





CALIFORNIA 





Ig-A. BELLS OF THE CAPISTRANO 





Ig-B. INTERIOR ARCHES OF THE CAPISTRANO 
two being well-designed and the other quite crude 





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Ig-C. REMAINS OF THE CLOISTER ARCHES OF THE CAPISTRANO 
Ruins of mission buildings can be seen back of the more distant arches 


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20. MISSION OF SAN LUIS REY DE FRANCIA 
Architecturally, this is the best of the California missions. Others, as well designed, are tn ruins. 








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REREDOS AND ALTAR OF THE SAN LUIS REY 


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CALIFORNIA 





20-C. PALA CHAPEL 
San Luis Rey. The campanile is the only one of its kind in the mission fields 





21, REMAINS OF THE SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 
the oldest of the California missions 














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